Temporal Mechanical Difficulties
by Matt Briddell
Summary: C13 (complete): Magneto has been stopped and Sam has been saved, but how will life go on for Glen? Part 3 of my GH saga. Magneto hatches a deadly plan to harness Glen Hilliard's for his own use. Thanks for the reviews so far :-)
1. Magneto's plot

Note: This story is a direct continuation of one of my previous stories, First Steps  
  
1  
  
Lance glared at the Jeep as it vanished. Damn! They got away again!, he thought angrily to himself. "One of these days." He looked over at Fred and Todd to see them recovering from the stasis that Glen had put them in. "Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Lance shouted at them. "This place is coming down!" The other two mutants shook their heads, trying to shake loose the effects of what they had just been through. It wasn't until a large chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling and landing 6 inches in front of Todd, who shrieked and leap-frogged out of the way, did they move. They ran out of the garage as it collapsed, crushing the cars parked inside of it. "S'pose anybody else was in there?" asked Fred. "I don't know," said Lance, his mind already thinking ahead to what he was going to say to Mystique. She was NOT going to be happy.  
  
Indeed she was not. "You did WHAT?!!" she yelled at him incredulously as Lance told her about the events of the afternoon. She was very concerned that they might be traced back to the collapse of the garage. So far, Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood had been able to avoid detection after their pranks, but they had never caused this much damage before. "Tell me about this new mutant," she ordered Lance. "His name's Glen Hilliard. Scrawny little kid," Lance grumbled. "He's a big fag. And Xavier's got him," "I gathered that much," said Mystique. "What can he do?" "He paralyzed Fred and Toad somehow," Lance replied. "Simple paralysis?" asked Mystique. "Doesn't sound that impressive to me. How'd he beat you again?" "He DIDN'T beat me!" shouted Lance. "Do you think I'd let that little fag one-up me?" "No, and that's obviously why you decided to bring an entire garage crashing down on his head!" Mystique yelled at him, and then turned to Fred and Toad. "What were your impressions of him?" she asked. "I've never even seen him before. All I remember was him stunning Toad, and then when I came to, he and the rest of 'em were gone," said Fred. "I've seen him a few times," said Toad. "And there's something kinda funny about him. Kinda like how if you're watching him for a while, you'd swear he can be in two places at once or something," "That's not very helpful," said Mystique. "Hey, I'm tryin' here!" said Toad. "Like there was this one time, a few months ago, me and Pietro broke into his locker and rigged up a little booby trap, ya know? It was supposed to get him all soaked when he opened the door. I was watching him, and when he opened the door, the thing went off, but somehow he dodged it. Next thing I see, he's standing right there and the paint's all over the other wall,"  
  
"So he's fast. What's your point?"  
  
"Well, he's not FAST. I mean, not like Pietro. It's like he was just there one second and gone the next,"  
  
"Hmm," Mystique said as she stroked her chin with a thoughtful finger. "If you're really saying what I think you are." She turned and walked up to her secure room. Magneto would want to hear about this.  
  
In her room, Mystique sat down at her communications console and opened a secure channel to Magneto. The screen blurred and resolved, his helmeted face appearing. "We have a new mutant to deal with," said Mystique. "This one may be trouble,"  
  
"Yes, he may be," said Magneto. "But he may also be of use to us. I have detected him, and his powers are far greater than he or Xavier realize. You must bring him to me,"  
  
"What do you plan to do with him?" asked Mystique.  
  
"I will put him to use for our side," said Magneto. "When I am through with him, we will be able to find any mutant we want, long before Xavier is aware of their presence,"  
  
"How will you be able to make him work for you? From what Lance has told me, he's clearly in league with Xavier,"  
  
"That allegiance may be more tenuous than you think, Mystique. I think he is more loyal to his lover than anybody else. That is how I intend to get him," He went on to describe his plans for capturing Glen and bending him to his will. The image changed to a picture of another boy. A look of concern spread across Mystique's face as she listened. Magneto had never gone THIS far with his plots before. "You realize that doing this seriously escalates things," she pointed out.  
  
"It cannot be helped. Xavier and I are now at a crossroads," said Magneto. "And only one of us can prevail. Make your preparations," With that, he signed off, and the screen faded to black.  
  
Mystique mused. This was a serious effort that she was about to undertake. Kidnapping was one thing, but what Magneto had described was something far beyond that in its gravity. She looked at the image of the boy that Magneto had sent her, knowing that there was a very good chance that he would wind up dead because of this. She felt a guilty stab of morality of this, but quickly buried it. "If he dies, so be it," she thought. "We cannot be at the disadvantage any more," With that, she went downstairs to collect the Brotherhood and inform them of their grisly task at hand. 


	2. Training

Glen ran at a breakneck pace down the corridor. Behind him, Bobby and Amara were keeping up. They had been pursuing the mutant for nearly 20 minutes and all 3 were fatigued. For once, Glen was thankful for the Professor's harder training programs; they were putting him in better shape than he had ever been in his life, even when he had been training for the gym team at Bayville High. He had never been able to run this long and this fast before. For the last few weeks, Glen had been undergoing a rigorous series of physical programs designed to help him get in better shape in as fast a time as possible. It was necessary, the Professor explained, to get him up to the same physical level as the other X-Men as soon as possible. When he asked why, the Professor had been evasive, saying only that "it may be necessary in the future," And so Glen had endured in a few weeks a level of training that the other X-Men had spent months developing.  
  
Finally, they reached the end of the long corridor. Glen rested his hands on his knees, exhausted by the long run. He saw that his teammates were similarly tired. Glen looked up at the massive steel door in front of him as he caught his breath. This was where their pursuit had led them, and now it was time to confront the dangerous fugitive. Glen examined the door but couldn't find any means of access. That meant that they'd have to make their own entrance. "Amara, can you melt through this door?"  
  
"I think so," said the small girl, and stepped forward. She clenched her fists, and her arms began to glow bright red. After a few seconds, she let out a cry and pointed her arms at the door. A stream of flame shot out and struck the door, which began to glow red. Slowly, the door began to melt as Amara maintained her assault. After about a minute, there was a large enough hole in the melted metal for them to pass through. Bobby quickly shot out a stream of ice to cool the door, and the three walked through.  
  
Beyond the door, they saw a dark room. There were several pillars holding up the ceiling, and a number of workbenches scattered around with all manner of scientific equipment on them. At the far corner of the room, they saw their quarry, seated at a computer console, typing furiously.  
  
"All right, you're surrounded!" Glen called out. "Give yourself up, and you won't be harmed,"  
  
The mutant rose, her long red hair swaying. Not turning around, she replied, 'I'm not going anywhere, and I suggest you leave now while you still can,"  
  
"We're not leaving without you," said Glen, then turned to his team members. "Ok, spread out and get ready to take her down. Remember, she can do all sorts of things with her mind, so stay sharp,"  
  
Bobby and Amara took up flanking positions as Glen stepped forward. As he approached, the red-haired mutant crouched down and suddenly sprang into action. She leaped up onto the computer terminal and jumped, somersaulting through the air and landing behind Glen. As he turned around, the girl kicked him hard in the face and sent him flying backwards, and then turned her attention to the other two. Bobby raised his hand and shot a ball of ice at the girl, but she jumped again, and deftly rebounded off of one of the pillars. Bobby fired another stream of ice, but the girl stretched out her arms and a barrier of energy appeared. The ice deflected off of it and rebounded directly at Bobby, freezing him to the pillar he was standing by.  
  
Glen slowly got up from the vicious kick he had received to see one of his teammates disabled. He phased out of time and reappeared behind the girl, meaning to tackle her from behind. She looked back behind her just as Glen reappeared and braced herself for the impact. They collided, and the girl rolled as she hit the ground, and wound up on top of Glen. Glen lifted his leg and kicked her off of him but had to quickly roll out of the way as the girl pointed at one of the workbenches, sending it flying towards him.  
  
Amara stood watching the melee, unwilling to take a shot for fear that she might hit her team leader. Finally, the two broke free of each other, and she charged up for a shot. Before she could use her powers, however, the girl shot out her arm, and Amara went flying across the room. She landed inside of a tall filing cabinet, which tipped over, trapping her inside. Now it was down to one on one as she turned her attention back to Glen.  
  
Glen shot a stasis beam at the girl. In response, she lifted a beaker off of one of the benches and directed it into the path of the beam. The beaker froze, then fell to the floor, and shattered. The girl then mentally lifted the entire contents of one of the benches and sent them flying at Glen. Glen froze what he could, but was forced to retreat behind one of the overturned benches. As he tried to figure out what to do next, his radio snapped on and he heard a gruff voice. "Glen, what's your status?"  
  
The voice belonged to Logan, who was monitoring the capture scenario. Glen quickly keyed the radio and said, 'Uh, everything's under control. Really!" Several beakers smashed against the wall behind him, showering him with broken glass.  
  
"Doesn't sound like everything's under control. Hurry up and take her down!" came Logan's curt response. "Try using your new doubling ability,"  
  
Glen closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The doubling ability Logan had referred to was something that Glen had developed very recently. By concentrating very hard, he could create an image of himself from another temporal period. In essence it was as if he was bringing a future version of himself into the present. He could also control this image, but only to a limited extent. If this worked, he thought, it might provide the distraction he would need to get in close.  
  
Opening his eyes, he could see a faint image of himself appear besides him. Focusing his thoughts, he made the image stand up and start running towards the girl. With his mind, he made the image dodge the rain of objects flying at it until it was only a few feet away from the girl. "Now!" he thought to himself, and phased out of time. He ran towards the girl, and re-entered normal time when he was next to his double. As he reentered time, he saw the girl take a defensive stance, and she lashed out with a kick. Unfortunately for Glen, she did not strike at his double, but rather at him. He doubled over, and the girl struck him again, sending him down to the floor. Glen could only watch, stunned, as she waved her hands at a string of computer cables. The cables detached from their sockets, and one end lashed itself to the ceiling while the other tied itself around Glen's legs. The next thing Glen knew, he was being hoisted in the air, upside down. The girl laughed, and with a wave of her red hair, walked out of the room.  
  
Up in the control booth of the Danger Room, Scott Summers looked down on Jean Grey as she walked out of the room. "That's my girl," he thought to himself, grinning.  
  
Logan grumbled and shut down the simulation. He cued the intercom to the Danger Room and said, "Congratulations. You're all dead. Come back upstairs for debriefing,"  
  
Glen sighed as the lights came on in the Danger Room. For the first time, he had lost in one of the simulations. He racked his brain for answers, but couldn't think of anything he could have done differently. Before he could reflect further on his defeat, the wires holding him up vanished, and he fell to the floor with a loud thud. He gathered himself up, and then he, Bobby, and Amara walked out of the room and up to the control booth.  
  
Glen watched the video of the exercise, grimacing at the action he saw. When the tape ended, Logan looked at Glen and said, "Ok. What went wrong?"  
  
"I tried the doubling trick, but Jean wasn't fooled at all. I think she could sense where I was even though I was phased out of time,"  
  
Jean nodded her head, confirming Glen's theory. "Glen, if it's any consolation, that was the most convincing double you've been able to create. And you were able to control it much better than before. That ability should work pretty well in the future, assuming you don't try to use it against a mutant who's a telepath,"  
  
"Explain," said Logan. "Why is the double so easy for a telepath to see through?"  
  
"Well, it may look like Glen, but it doesn't think like him. When I first saw it, I tried to read its mind and figure out its plan of attack, but I couldn't get any kind of mental reading off of it at all. Once I realized that I was looking at the double, I realized that Glen's real attack would follow. I could sense where he was when he was out of time because he was so close by. All I had to do was wait for him to phase back in,"  
  
Logan turned back to Glen. "What about your teammates? With a 3-to-1 advantage, you should have been able to bring her down easily. What happened?"  
  
'We didn't deploy well enough," said Glen. "Her attack caught me off guard, and she was able to isolate us individually. From there, she had a pretty easy time,"  
  
Logan next looked over at Amara. "You had a shot on her at one point. Why didn't you take it?"  
  
Amara blushed nervously. "I was afraid I might hit Glen by mistake," she said.  
  
"In the future, you may have to take that chance," said Logan. "I think we're done here. Dismissed,"  
  
Glen could feel Logan's stern eyes boring holes in him as he walked out of the control booth. Logan had been a good instructor, but he was a VERY difficult man to please. Logan was aware that Glen was gay, as were all the other X-Men. However, Logan had reacted rather gruffly when he heard the news. Glen still remembered his words, 'Great, now I got a pixie to deal with. As though the elf wasn't bad enough!" "Yeah, we're a couple of real fairy tales," Glen had responded, trying to make the man laugh. That, he had quickly discovered, was impossible.  
  
Glen showered, and went upstairs to his room. He opened one of his schoolbooks and began studying, but closed it after a few minutes. So many thoughts were swirling through his head that he couldn't concentrate. Between school and his training sessions, he had had very little time to himself, and his mind and body were taxed to their limits.  
  
He lay on his bed, trying to relax, but couldn't. He found himself thinking of his friend Sam; it had seemed like an eternity since they had done anything together, despite their similar class schedule. Glen still cared very much for the boy, but could feel them beginning to drift apart from being separated so much. He wished he could be with Sam now, holding him in his arms, kissing him like he had done before, when they had first met. Glen still remembered that kiss vividly. He was very afraid that he might never get to experience that moment again. At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and Glen heard Professor Xavier's voice outside, asking to come in.  
  
Glen got up and opened the door to his room, and allowed the professor to wheel in. "Hello, Glen. How are you feeling?" he asked.  
  
Glen thought about saying that he was fine, but he put that idea aside. The professor wouldn't need his powers to realize how Glen was really doing. "Not well, Professor," he said, sighing.  
  
"So I see," said Xavier. "I can tell that the stress of your accelerated training is beginning to wear on you. For what it's worth, I can tell you that you're the only member that I've asked to undergo such rigorous training, and you're handling it phenomenally,"  
  
"I just wish I knew what it was really all about," said Glen. "I mean, you've told me that sooner or later, we're going to have to fight somebody, but who? There's no way the Brotherhood can be that tough," Xavier sighed, realizing that he could no longer keep this information back. "It's not the Brotherhood that I'm worried about, Glen. There is a mutant far beyond any threat the Brotherhood poses,"  
  
"Who is he?"  
  
"His name is Magneto. He is a very powerful mutant, and unfortunately, he does not share my views about mutants and humans,"  
  
"How so?"  
  
"He believes that humans and mutants cannot peacefully coexist. He has little hope that humanity will be able to overcome its prejudices and accept us for who we are. And he thinks that the only way that mutants will be able to live normal lives is through violence and force. Frankly, he thinks that mutants should use their powers to rule over humans. He has been recruiting his own mutants, just as I have been. The Brotherhood are just a few of the mutants under his influence,"  
  
"So he's the one responsible for all of their attacks?"  
  
"Not directly. For the most part, he lets them operate outside of his control. The results, as you have seen, are rather erratic. While they can cause serious damage when they have a purpose, they are often too caught up in their own interests to pose a serious threat. But Magneto has slowly been gathering his forces. I fear that soon he will try and draw us into open conflict and expose us to the world. I can only imagine how disastrous the consequences of that would be,"  
  
Glen nodded. If he and the other X-Men were exposed, their lives would likely be ruined. They'd never be able to go to school the same way again, and the professor might even have to close the Institute down. "Do you really think he'd expose us?"  
  
"Sadly, yes. He has made it plain that he has no concern for our fate when he puts his plans into motion. I knew when I first started the Institute that such a day might come. Unfortunately, it appears that that day may be coming far too soon,"  
  
"Great," Glen muttered. "Glad to know we have so much to look forward to. Wish I could just forget about all this for a while,"  
  
Xavier pondered for a moment, and then said, "I think I can accommodate that wish. I want you to take the next few days off of training. You're at a point now where your powers have developed as far as they will go. They will continue to grow over the course of time, but it will do you no good to continue to push you so hard right now. Relax for a few days, get caught up on your schoolwork if you need to, and make sure you take time to enjoy the world and be with your friends. Especially Sam. I know that you two haven't been able to see much of each other lately,"  
  
Glen blushed slightly at the thought that Xavier was concerned about how much time he was spending with his friend. "Thank you, Professor. I'll try and do that,"  
  
"And Glen, try not to dwell so much on what the future holds. I started this Institute with the knowledge that one day, the details of what goes on here would become public knowledge. But I intend for the Institute to remain here and to continue to fulfill its purpose, even after that day comes," With that, he turned and wheeled out of the room.  
  
Glen dwelled on the words the professor had left him left, but he forced himself not to think about them. Professor Xavier had ordered him to relax, and relax he would. And he knew just what he wanted to do. He leaned over to his bed table and picked up the phone, and dialed a number that he knew by heart. "Hi!" he said, when the boy on the other end picked up.  
  
"Glen! You called!" Sam shouted as his heart practically leapt through his throat. It had been so long since he and Glen had gotten to spend any kind of time together. "How are you?"  
  
"Exhausted," Glen said, "but I've finally got some time off. Wanna get together later on?"  
  
"Sure!" said Sam. "How about meeting me at my house in an hour, and we can go up to the hills and have a picnic up there,"  
  
"Sounds great!" said Glen. "I'll see you in an hour," he said, and they hung up. "Woohoo!" he shouted, feeling instantly invigorated, and raced downstairs.  
  
"You look all excited!" Kurt said as Glen pranced around the kitchen.  
  
"Yep. I'm going to spend some time with somebody very special to me," said Glen, his grin a mile wide.  
  
"Ooh, you got a date!" said Kitty teasingly. "Lucky!"  
  
"Have a good time!" called Kurt as Glen bounced out the door.  
  
Kitty laughed. "So like, how is it that a gay boy is the only one here who can manage to have a normal close relationship with somebody!"  
  
"Hey, he's not the only one!" said Kurt, thinking of his own girlfriend Amanda.  
  
"I know," Kitty smiled, and they both got up and left the kitchen. They didn't notice Scott standing at the far end of the kitchen as they left.  
  
Scott walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, alone in the room. All the talk about dating about dates and relationships made him think about his own relationship with Jean. They were very close friends as it was, but he kept wishing they could be more than that. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get close to her. The fact that she was already going out with Duncan Matthews didn't make matters any easier. More than anything, he just wished he could let her know how he really felt about her. He sighed, going over the quandary in his mind. How was it that he could control the destructive forces of his optic blasts, yet be so powerless when it came to expressing his feelings for Jean?  
  
He continued to think, oblivious to his surroundings. It wasn't until he heard somebody say, "Hi, Scott!" until he became aware of reality again. He turned to see who was calling him, and inwardly blanched as he saw Jean standing next to the refrigerator.  
  
"Um, hi Jean," Scott said.  
  
"Feeling alright?" Jean asked.  
  
"Like you have to ask," Scott said jokingly.  
  
"C'mon Scott, you know I don't probe people minds without their permission," Jean replied. "What's bothering you?"  
  
"Well, I've been thinking about you lately," Scott began, already beginning to feel his stomach contorting. "I was thinking., uh, that you were really something in that simulation earlier today. I've never seen anybody able to handle Glen like you did," he finished, trying to cover the nervousness in his voice.  
  
Jean sat down next to him at the table and took his hands in hers. "Scott, is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, looking into the eyes that she knew lay behind his protective glasses.  
  
Scott looked back at Jean, but felt his courage wilt under her caring gaze. "I can't. At least, not now,"  
  
"Are you sure? Whatever it is, it looks like it's really eating you up,"  
  
"Some other time. Soon, I promise,"  
  
"Ok," Jean said, getting up to leave. "Just don't keep it to yourself for too long,"  
  
Scott watched her leave. Great, he thought. Another chance lost. It was like this every time for him. He would always tell himself, "There'll be another time," He grimaced as he realized that some day, he might not have such an opportunity. "Jean!" he called out, but she was already gone, and Scott's words resounded off the empty kitchen walls.  
  
Author's note: I apologize for the lengthy delay between chapters with this story. I have been mapping out this story in my head for a few weeks now and I actually wrote two other chapters for this story before completing this one. I had some difficulty figuring out exactly how I wanted to construct this chapter, what to include and what to leave out. Needless to say, I finally decided what the chapter should be. Hopefully, Chapter 3 will not be as difficult to write as this one was (and I can promise that Chapters 4 and 5 won't be difficult at all to write because they're already done!) 


	3. Open Hearts

Glen could feel the tension oozing out of his body as he drove through the streets of Bayville. After weeks of intense training in the Danger Room, he was finally being allowed to take some time off, and he was on his way to see his friend Sam. He was driving one of the jeeps that Professor Xavier had purchased for the Institute. Unlike some of the other vehicles that the Professor had acquired, this jeep had not received any kind of modifications and was exactly what it looked like; a perfectly normal- looking automobile.  
  
He turned onto Sam's street, and as he got closer, he could see Sam already waiting on his porch. Sam jumped up eagerly as Glen pulled up and got out of the car. They walked towards each other and hugged each other, and then Glen tilted his head and kissed Sam very deeply. They held the kiss for several seconds, oblivious to anybody else that may have been watching. When they broke apart, Sam had a wild look of exhilaration in his eyes. "Wow!" was all he could bring himself to say. "I'm glad to see you too!"  
  
"I figured I owed you big time for not being around the last few weeks," Glen said, smiling.  
  
"Well, I'll consider your debt to me paid. For now," Sam grinned back as he picked up the basket by his side.  
  
"What all do you have in there?" asked Glen, his eyes drifting to the basket.  
  
"You'll see. It's a surprise!" said Sam.  
  
"Aah! The tension's already killing me!" Glen laughed.  
  
"Whatever, Hamlet! Or should I say, Ophelia!" Sam said, bursting out into pealed laughter.  
  
"Yeah, I do tend to be a bit of a drama queen," Glen said. He picked up a large stone sitting on the ground and held it up in front of his face. "Alas, poor Yorick!" he said, and then broke down laughing himself.  
  
"Alright, stop already!" Sam said, gasping for breath. "Our dinner's going to get cold!"  
  
Glen picked up the basket, fully lost in himself, letting out all of the stress he had felt over the last few weeks. "Aye, forsooth as winter's bitter chill grips my veins! Is this a basket I see before me?"  
  
"Gah! You're horrible!" Sam said, laughing so hard that tears began to blur his vision. He swatted Glen on the butt. Glen gave a mock shout and leapt in the air, laughing his heart out. Finally, the stress spent, he opened the passenger door on the side of the jeep before heading around to start it up. They both got in and they drove off.  
  
As Glen drove, he glanced over at Sam and began chuckling again as Sam smiled back at him. "Boy, you HAVE been stressed out lately!" Sam said. "What have you been training so hard for?"  
  
Glen paused. How much should he really tell Sam about what he had been doing? The professor had been explicitly clear in telling Glen, as well as all the other X-Men, how much they should say about their activities at the Institute. But Glen thought that he could trust Sam to keep a secret. "There may be some bad times headed our way. We're trying to prepare as best we can. I've been doing all of these sessions so I can get in the same shape as the others, and so I can get used to using my powers in certain situations,"  
  
"Are you getting ready to fight somebody?"  
  
"If we have to, yes," Glen said, his voice taking on a much more serious tone. It was about time to end this particular discussion. "I can't tell you who, but this. person, is very powerful, and the professor's worried that he may be able to expose what we're doing at the Institute. I know you want to know more about what's going on, but I can't say anything else, and you need to keep what I've told you secret. Tell absolutely nobody about this,"  
  
"I understand," said Sam. "I promise I won't tell anybody,"  
  
They drove on for a few minutes until they came to the hill outside of Bayville. The hill afforded a great view of Bayville, and was a traditional place for couples to go to spend time together and be close with each other. Glen parked the jeep at the foot of the hill, and they got out and climbed up the gentle slope to the top. There, they set up a blanket and Sam reached into the basket, pulling out a plate of fried chicken.  
  
"So where's the surprise?" Glen asked with a sly look on his face.  
  
"Ok, I'll give it to you, but now it's YOUR turn to keep a secret," Sam said, and reached back in the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine.  
  
"Where did you get THIS?" Glen asked, his jaw dropping a bit.  
  
"I snuck it out from my dad's private supply. It's supposed to be a good year. Hope you like it!"  
  
"You little sneak! Stealing for me!" said Glen, grinning wickedly. "I should be careful, you might try to steal my heart next!"  
  
Sam said nothing and only grinned, that, "Who, me?" expression making him look very much like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.  
  
Sam pulled out 2 glasses and poured the wine. As they ate, they watched the sun began to go down. As they reclined on the blanket, Sam sat up suddenly. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He reached into the basket again and pulled out a stereo. "The other part of your surprise. I know how much you like classical music, so I got this CD for you," He set the stereo down and turned it on and the beautiful strains of Rachmaninov's second piano concerto began to pour out, the thick, lush melody hanging heavily on the air like a wool blanket. Sam watched as Glen closed his eyes, his whole body relaxing. "That's beautiful!" he whispered.  
  
"I knew you'd like it," said Sam, and leaned forward and kissed Glen, very much the same way that Glen had kissed Sam when they had met earlier. When they broke, Sam took hold of Glen's hands and looked deeply into his eyes.  
  
"Glen?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You've never kissed me like that before, like you did earlier. At least, not in public," Sam said. For the most part, their affection for each other had been very private. "Weren't you worried that somebody might have seen us?"  
  
"Not then, I wasn't. It had been so long since we had been together, since we had held each other, I didn't care if the whole world saw us,"  
  
"Is there any reason it can't be like that more often?" asked Sam. "I know we've been trying to be discreet, but I don't want to always be worrying, 'What if somebody's watching?' I want to be able to say that I have a boyfriend and say it to somebody besides myself,"  
  
"Are you sure you want to be public about this? I mean, the reason I've tried to be so discreet is because I'm afraid something might happen to you if people knew about us,"  
  
Sam stood up. "Glen, you told me to be proud of who I am and not to hide anything. I don't want to hide this any more. I'm very proud of the way I feel about you, and I want to be able to tell people what you really mean to me, because I love you, Glen! You said that earlier you didn't care if the whole world was watching us. Let go like that again! Screw what everybody else might think! Let's love each other and let whatever happens come!"  
  
Glen looked back at Sam. He completely understood what Sam desired. He also wanted to be able to tell people that he had a boyfriend and that he had feelings for Sam. At this point, he was becoming caught up in Sam's bravery and his willingness to face down the world and say, "THIS is who I am!" He felt one last strand of doubt holding him back from making the same proclamation. I'm tired of hiding, he thought to himself. If he's not going to be afraid, then neither am I. With that he stood up and opened his mouth to say a few very special words. "Sam."  
  
A siren suddenly burst through the air like a knife slashing across a victim's throat. They both turned to see a police car at the bottom of the hill, its lights flashing angrily. How long had the car been there, wondered Glen? He looked down at the empty wine bottle on the ground. The cops probably wouldn't arrest them for kissing each other; after all, Bayville had no anti-gay laws on its books. But if the cops saw the wine bottle, they'd probably be arrested for underage drinking. Looking back to the police car, Glen saw that they had come up from the other side of the hill. Which meant that they hadn't seen Glen's jeep. "Hang on, Sam. We're getting out of here," said Glen. Sam looked at Glen, and then suddenly found himself staring at empty space as Glen phased out of time. An instant later, Glen reappeared beside him, holding the now-full picnic basket. The cops were starting to walk up the hill, but there was still enough time to make a getaway. "Sam, take my hand!" said Glen. Sam gripped Glen's hand tightly and they phased out together. "Don't let go!" shouted Glen as the purple vortex of his alternate temporal dimension swirled around their bodies. They ran back to the jeep and Glen started the engine. He hit the gas and was able to make it down the hill before they phased back into normal time.  
  
"That was close!" said Glen. "Next time, maybe we should leave the wine in your dad's cellar,"  
  
"Yeah," Sam muttered. Looks like the world won today, he thought glumly.  
  
Back on the hill, the police officer shook his head. He could have sworn he had seen two teenage boys sharing a bottle of wine together just a moment ago, but now he was the only person standing atop the hill. "Too many strange things going on around here these days," he muttered to himself, and walked back to his patrol car.  
  
As the car drove off, a bird landed on the ground. It had been sitting up in a nearby tree while Glen and Sam had shared their dinner and more, and witnessed their narrow escape. The bird lowered its head and suddenly expanded in size, reshaping itself into the form of a blue-skinned woman with red hair. Mystique looked down the hill at the direction that Glen had driven, a plan formulating in her mind. She reached down to her belt, pulled out a small phone and dialed a number. When the person on the other end picked up, she said, "Go to the alley behind the Bayville Library. I'll be bringing him there in a half-hour. Make sure you're all there. We're putting our plans into motion tonight," She hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.  
  
After tonight, she thought, Magneto would be one step closer to accomplishing his goals. When they had the modules of Cerebro in their possession, they would be able to find mutants far faster than Xavier could and soon they would be the ones to present the mutant agenda for mankind. But it would not be Xavier's puny idea of peaceful coexistence. Mutants would soon offer humanity a choice: accept us or get out the way. She flexed her muscles, shifting her form again, this time taking on the appearance of Glen himself. Looking at her reflection in a small mirror she had with her, she nodded her head. This would do perfectly. She turned herself back into the bird she had been and took flight, flying over Bayville to meet with the Brotherhood. Operation Broken Heart was under way. 


	4. Open Hearts, part 2

Sam sat in his living room alone, thinking about what had happened between he and Glen. He had poured out his heart to Glen on that hill. Glen had been about to tell him something before the cops had driven by and seen their wine bottle. They had made a daring escape, but it had totally killed the mood. Sam was sure that Glen felt the same way about him, but he was just not willing to be public with his love. Maybe it had to do with being a mutant, Sam thought. Having to live every day in fear that somebody might find out about them probably made them uneasy about being open about who they were. But how was that so different from being gay, he thought? He still faced the ever-present specter of fear and persecution. If he could be open about who he was, why couldn't Glen?  
  
As he pondered these things in his mind, he heard a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw Glen standing on the porch. "Come with me," said Glen. "We need to talk," With no further words, he turned and began walking. Sam quickly ran out the door and chased after Glen. When he caught up, he grabbed Glen's arm. "Where are we going?" he asked.  
  
"Someplace where we can talk privately. It's about what I mentioned to you earlier, about the problems we were facing. You may be able to help us,"  
  
"How?"  
  
"I'm taking you to meet some people. You may be of some use to them,"  
  
They walked for several minutes until they came to the Bayville Library. They went around to the alley behind the building. "Wait here," said Glen. "I need to make sure they're ready," Sam waited as Glen disappeared into the shadows. A moment later, he heard Glen's voice. "Ok, come over here,"  
  
Sam stepped into the dark alley, very nervous. Who was he about to meet? And how would he possibly be able to help them against this person Glen had told him about? In the moonlight, he saw Glen standing at the back of the alley alone, facing the wall at the end. He was holding an object, turning it over in his hands, examining it carefully. "So where are they?" asked Sam.  
  
"We're right here!" came a menacing reply. Sam turned around to see Lance Alvers standing in front of him. Behind him, the rest of the Brotherhood took up positions at the front of the alley, making escape totally impossible. "Glen, what's going on? Why are they here?" Sam shouted, turning back around. He saw Glen turn to face him, and then his mind went numb as he watched Glen transform into a slender, blue-skinned woman. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" Sam asked, frightened. "My name is unimportant," said the woman. "Seeing as you won't remember it. As for what we want, we're setting up a trap for your friend, and you are going to be our bait," she said. Sam tried to run, but Lance grabbed him and lifted him off his feet. "After all, when you're going fishing for a fag, what better bait to use than his boyfriend!" Lance leered. Sam tried to struggle, but he heard a hiss of air and felt a stab in his neck as Mystique injected him with a drug, and his mind went black. In his mind, Sam struggled through a thick haze. He staggered about blindly, trying to find a way out of the cloud that was obscuring his vision. A breeze kicked up, and Sam looked around to see a scarlet and purple streak rush by him from behind. He looked up to see a tall, imposing figure hovering in the air in front of him. He could barely make out the slits of the man's eyes, which were covered by a tall, menacing looking helmet. The figure stretched out its hand, and Sam turned to run, instantly knowing that somehow, he should be very afraid of this man. As he took his first step in flight, he felt the ground suddenly give way beneath him, and he fell screaming a long way.  
  
He awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He was back in his living room, lying on the couch. He ran his hands through his tangled black hair. What kind of dream had he just had, he wondered?  
  
In a control room very far away, Magneto watched a monitor with rapt attention. So far, everything was going according to plan. The kidnapping of the boy had been flawlessly executed. The chemical series he had administered to the boy's brain had not appeared to cause any adverse side effects. These chemicals would make Sam very susceptible to subliminal suggestion, which would come from a transmitter chip that Magneto had implanted behind the boy's ear. This would allow him to communicate commands directly to the boy's brain, making him a puppet for Magneto to control. It had also allowed him to repress the memories the boy had of his encounter with Mystique. A second implant would process and transmit imagery to Magneto's computers, allowing Magneto to see what Sam was seeing in near real time. Magneto had also inserted a third implant, this one sitting directly at the root of the boy's spine. Unlike the other implants, this one was not yet active. Mystique, who was also watching the monitor next to Magneto, hoped it never would be used, that the boy could somehow accomplish the task that he had been brainwashed to perform, but a clinging dread hung in the back of her mind that very soon, the boy would be dead.  
  
In his house, Sam squinted his eyes, trying to shake off the dream. He stood, feeling a little dizzy, and slowly walked to his bedroom. Had the wine he and Glen had shared earlier that evening made him that drunk? He lay down on his bed and was soon caught up again by fitful dreams.  
  
Meanwhile back at the Institute, Glen was thinking of what Sam had said to him, and what he had been about to say in response. Sam was asking a lot of him. Glen had preferred to be selective about who he informed about his sexuality, afraid that he wouldn't be able to deal with a lot of people knowing. Now the one thing he had been looking for for a while, a boyfriend, was within his reach, but he found himself lacking the courage to reach out and seize the opportunity. As he wrestled with his dilemma, he didn't notice Scott walk into the den until he sat down next to him, a similarly glum expression on his face.  
  
"Hi Scott, I didn't hear you come in," he said.  
  
"Hey," Scott said, not offering much.  
  
Glen glanced over at the look on Scott's face. After a moment, he asked, "Why do I get the feeling we're both thinking about the same thing, more or less,"  
  
Scott looked over at him. "Are you that good at reading people, or is it just that obvious?"  
  
"It's that obvious. Let me guess. Jean?"  
  
"Yeah. I really want to let her know how I feel about her, but it seems like I can never bring myself to tell her,"  
  
"Scott, you sound like you're worried whether she'll say 'yes' or 'no'. If that was really the case, you would have realized that the worst she could say is no, and you'd have told her by now and taken whatever reaction she gave you. I think that what's really got you worried is that you want to hear Jean say 'I know', but you're afraid that she'll be caught off guard when you tell her. Trust me, you don't have to worry about that happening. She knows how you feel about her. She just needs to hear you say it,"  
  
Those words all made sense when they coming out of another person's mouth, Scott realized. Glen was right. All he really needed to do was let Jean know how he felt about her. Regardless of how she answered him, the burden would be lifted off of his chest, hopefully for good.  
  
"I take it that you've got somebody on your mind, too," Scott said.  
  
"Yeah," said Glen. "Sam wants me and him to be more. public, with our relationship. I don't know if I'm quite ready for that,"  
  
"Well," said Scott, "I certainly wouldn't tell you to get yourself into something you're not ready for. But then again, you may find that by hiding all the time, you may be hurting your relationship with him,"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Couples need to be open with each other, Glen, but they also need to be open with the people around them. If you and Sam keep your relationship to yourselves, people won't get a chance to see what I've seen and what all of us here have seen from you, that gay people are really just like everybody else. You may have some problems at first dealing with some close-minded people, but after a while, those people will see that they don't have anything to fear from you, and they'll accept you eventually,"  
  
"You sound like the Professor," said Glen.  
  
"Hey, we may not all be gay like you, but we're all going to have to come out about being mutants one day," said Scott. "We know what you're going through, and we'll be here to support you, even if it seems like the whole rest of the world turns its back on you,"  
  
Glen thought on this for a moment, and then stood up. "Thanks Scott. I think that's what I needed to hear," He went up to his room and started getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, when he saw Sam at school, he knew exactly what he would say.  
  
Back down in the den, Scott saw Jean walk in the door, returning from a late soccer practice. "Ok," he thought. "Show time,"  
  
"Hey, Jean, got a minute?"  
  
"Sure. What's up?" she asked.  
  
Scott clasped her hands. "Jean, there's something I've been meaning to say to you for a while now. I love you. I've been in love with you since the first day I met you. I just haven't been able to tell you until now,"  
  
Jean looked at Scott and smiled, saying the three words he had been waiting so long to hear pass across her lips: "I know, Scott,"  
  
Scott felt weightless as he heard those words. Finally, after holding back so long, he had overcome the one thing that had stifled him more than anything else.  
  
Jean continued. "Look, Scott, I know I'm kinda seeing somebody else right now," she said, avoiding mentioning Scott's rival by name. "But I want you to know that we'll always have each other," She ran her hand across the rim of his visor and down his cheek, and then kissed him gently on the lips before turning and walking off.  
  
Upstairs, Kurt, Evan, Kitty and Rogue had been watching. When they saw Jean kiss Scott, Kurt and Kitty slapped hands. "Yes! Told you she'd finally kiss him," said Kitty. "Ve vin. Pay up!" said Kurt to a dejected Evan and Rogue as they reached for their wallets. The foursome had had a bet going that Scott and Jean would graduate from Bayville before they ever kissed. Before Glen had arrived at the Institute, it had seemed like an easy win for Rogue and Evan. But somehow, Glen had been able to work his magic yet again and cause "Stoneface" as the others jokingly called him to finally show a little emotion and tell Jean how he felt about her. "He just has that way with people," Rogue muttered, handing Kitty 10 bucks. As Evan pulled out his wager, he had another idea. "Hey, double or nothing says Glen can't make Logan smile," he said coyly. "You're on!" Kitty and Kurt replied. 


	5. Stonewall

The sun rose over the Xavier Institute the next morning. Inside, two of its residents woke up feeling much more optimistic than they had the previous night. One, because he had gotten something off his chest that had been bugging him since time out of mind; the second, because he was getting ready to do the same thing, and in doing so, open himself up to the world.  
  
Glen walked the halls of Bayville High on a direct course for his friend Sam's locker. He arrived just as Sam was pulling out the last of his books for his next class.  
  
Sam closed his locker and turned to see Glen looking at him. "Hi!" Glen said, a seductive tone in his voice.  
  
"Hi," Sam said back nervously. He had asked Glen the last time he saw him if they could be more public with their relationship, but had felt like he had pushed Glen too hard on the issue. Now as he saw Glen staring into his eyes, he had a feeling he was going to get his answer.  
  
"I never got to answer you the other night," Glen said calmly, moving very close to Sam.  
  
"Look, Glen, I'm sorry I asked you to do this. I didn't want to push you into something you didn't think you were ready for," Sam said, turning his eyes down to the floor.  
  
Glen placed his hand on Sam's cheek and guided his eyes back up until they were looking straight into his own. "Sam, I AM ready," he said. "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle everything that would come from this, but I won't have to worry about that, because I know there will be people to support us no matter what. I love you, Sam. And if the rest of the world can't appreciate that, then that's too bad for them!"  
  
Glen saw Sam's eyes light up. "Thank you!" Sam said, and kissed Glen on the cheek.  
  
"Hey, there'll be time for that later. Right now, we need to get to class!" Glen said. "Walk together?" he asked, clasping Sam's hand in his own.  
  
"I can't think of anybody I'd rather go with," said Sam, and they walked off to class hand in hand.  
  
In the control room of his complex, Magneto had watched the exchange between Glen and Sam, courtesy of the ocular implant he had installed in the human boy the previous night. So far, all of the readings that had been coming back were within tolerable limits, meaning that the implants and chemical treatments Magneto had administered were functioning as expected, and that Magneto could take further control at any time. For now, he was content to simply observe what the boy saw. Magneto had curled his lip when Sam had kissed Glen, clearly disgusted at such behavior. For the moment, he repressed his own personal beliefs, reminding himself that, gay or not, Glen Hilliard was critical to the success of his plans. There would be plenty of time to exterminate him later, after he had accomplished his task.  
  
As Glen and Sam walked the halls, they couldn't help notice all the stares they got. Many were of the "Did I just see what I THOUGHT I saw?" variety. They saw several girls smiling at them, and Glen could have sworn he had caught one boy also grinning at him. "Maybe I just made a difference in that boy's life," Glen thought to himself. "Maybe he's gay too, and I just gave him the comfort of knowing that he's not the only one here," That bit of positive thinking was blotted out as Glen heard a muscular voice from in front of him, "What the heck do you think you're doing?"  
  
Glen looked to see a boy in a red Bayville varsity jacket staring incredulously at them. Glen recognized him as Jean's boyfriend, Duncan something or other. "Exactly what it looks like we're doing. What's it to you?" he said nonchalantly.  
  
"Gah, that is so disgusting!" said Duncan. "How can you even walk around in public like that?"  
  
"What's so disgusting about it? How is this any different from anything you and Jean do?"  
  
Duncan's mouth went agape. He could not believe what he was hearing. How could this boy even BEGIN to compare his sick relationship to what he and Jean had together? Before he could answer, he heard a very familiar voice from behind him and turned to see Jean.  
  
"Go on, Duncan, answer him," she said, a knowing grin on her face. "How ARE they any different from us?"  
  
Duncan was flabbergasted. "Jean! How can you possibly think that."  
  
Jean cut him off. "Listen, Duncan. I know you're used to thinking that you're superior to everybody, but you need to realize something. What Glen and Sam have with each other is JUST as real as what we have. It doesn't matter that they're both boys, they love each other, and that should be good enough for you,"  
  
Duncan said nothing, but stalked off down the hall angrily. Jean watched him go, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, what do I see in that boy?" she asked herself, and then turned back to Glen. "Glen, that was absolutely wonderful!"  
  
"Thanks Jean," Glen said. "And thanks for sticking up for us,"  
  
"Don't mention it. But you'd better get going, or you're going to be late," she said, turning and walking away.  
  
Glen and Sam turned back to head to class, but were again interrupted by a voice, this one belonging to Principal Kelly. "Boys, could you come into my office please? We need to have a talk,"  
  
"Now Glen," Kelly said once they were all seated in the office. "I understand that you and Sam may have, feelings for each other," he said, hesitating on the word 'feelings' "But I simply cannot allow this sort of behavior to go on in my school,"  
  
"Why not?" asked Glen. "There are countless straight couples that walk around together every day of the week, and you've never said anything about them,"  
  
"Look boys, I'm trying to do this for your own safety. If your run-in with Duncan Mitchell didn't make it obvious, there are a lot of people in this school who wouldn't be comfortable with the idea of two gay boys walking around hand in hand,"  
  
"Would that include you?" Sam asked defiantly.  
  
Kelly said nothing and pretended to pore over some papers on his desk. "Thought so," Sam said.  
  
"Hey, easy," Glen whispered to Sam.  
  
"Son, my own personal feelings regarding your particular orientation are besides the point,"  
  
"It's not an 'orientation'" said Glen, beginning to get a little frustrated himself. "It's the way we are!"  
  
"Regardless, I have more than your own interests at stake here. This school receives a lot of public funding, and we don't exactly live in the most accepting community. If word got out that I let a gay couple flaunt their affections for each other under my roof, we could lose that funding, and I can't afford for that to happen. Now I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to keep your relationship to yourselves,"  
  
"And I suppose you're just going to let all the straight couples in this school carry on as they have been?" Sam asked.  
  
"Do you have any idea what sort of trouble would happen if I tried to curtail the relationships that normal students have with each other? If I tried to do away with their love lives just because they couldn't accept your own unnatural relationship, I'd have riots on my hands! " Kelly said, throwing up his hands.  
  
"The hell with that! That's discrimination, plain and simple!" Glen shouted, leaping out of his chair.  
  
"Glen, that's enough!" Kelly shouted back, forcefully slamming his hand down on the desk. "Now I'm sorry boys, but as far as this issue is concerned, you're on your own here. That's just the way the world is today,"  
  
Glen narrowed his eyes at Kelly. "Then the world is wrong, Principal Kelly," he said softly. "I'm just sorry that you can't see that. Come on, Sam, let's go to class,"  
  
"'Unnatural'," growled Sam once they got were back in the halls. "Who does he think he is, anyways?"  
  
"A man who's frightened by what he doesn't understand," said Glen. "Just like a lot of people in this world are. But once we help him understand who we are, he and all of them will realize that there's no reason to be afraid of us,"  
  
"Do you think he meant what he said about us being alone?" Sam asked uncertainly.  
  
"As long as we have each other, we'll never be alone," Glen said. "Now come on, we have a world to change," With that, they clasped hands again and walked to their class.  
  
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. They continued to walk the halls hand in hand, separating only when they passed Kelly's office. He heard numerous students commenting about them to each other. Glen caught a few bits of religious nonsense and hate-filled diatribe being bandied about, but nobody was overtly aggressive to him. As he unpacked his locker at the end of the day, he saw two girls walk up to him. One of them said, "Hi Glen. We just wanted to say that we heard about what all's going on, and we're so proud of what you're doing. Please, don't stop,"  
  
"Thanks. Glad to see there's at least a couple open-minded people in this school," Glen said as they walked off. He picked up his backpack and headed out the door. Sam met him as he was heading outside. "How was the rest of your day?" Glen asked. "Just great," Sam replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've already had 4 people threaten to beat me up. But at least I didn't have any problems getting into my locker today," he said, chuckling.  
  
"Glad you're still looking on the bright side of things," Glen smiled.  
  
As they walked across the courtyard, Glen saw 3 boys walking up to him, led by Duncan. "Oh great, the love police are in town," Glen muttered under his breath.  
  
"Hey, look at the lovers!" one of the boys called out as they got closer. Duncan stopped just inches away from Glen's face and looked down at him. "Listen kid, I don't appreciate what you're doing. Nobody shows me up in front of my girlfriend!"  
  
"Hey, I wasn't the one being an ignorant asshole," Glen said. "You know, it's not good for a relationship when you go spouting bigoted, homophobic statements in front of your partner,"  
  
Duncan grabbed Glen by his shirt. "Knock off that 'partner' crap!" he shouted, the smell of mouthwash heavy on his breath. "It's boyfriend and girlfriend, and that's the only right way for things to be! But I guess you didn't figure that out earlier from what Kelly laid down for you, so let give you a little reinforcement!" With that, he shoved Glen down to the ground, hard.  
  
Glen slowly got up. He would have preferred not to fight, but there appeared to be no alternative. "Remember," he told himself. "NO powers," He dusted himself off and looked at Duncan. "Looks like it's my lucky day. Ok, Duncan, this part might hurt a little, but you'll thank me once I knock the ignorance out of your head," With that, he swung, splitting Duncan' lip.  
  
He had little time to recover before Duncan's friends sprang into action. One came at Glen swinging. Glen dodged the blows; even without his powers, his reflexes were still razor sharp. He dodged a punch, then grabbed the boy by his jacket and hip-tossed him to the ground. The third boy, however, went after Sam, and wrapped him up in a bear hug before Sam could make any move to flee.  
  
Sam struggled to break free of the hold, but couldn't budge. "Glen, help!" he cried out.  
  
Glen heard Sam's call for help and ran over. He quickly sized up the boy holding Sam, then aimed a kick directly at the boy's back, with the desired effect; the boy collapsed and let Sam go. Before Glen could do anything further, Duncan, who had recovered from Glen's initial blow, struck him from behind.  
  
Glen felt himself being seized from behind and spun around to face Duncan. Duncan grinned, a drop of blood hanging from his lip. "Now you're gonna get what's coming to you!" he said, and punched Glen in the face. Sam ran up and tried to grab Duncan's wrist, but Duncan shoved the boy down and raised his fist to strike Glen again. Before he could strike, he felt somebody grab his arm. He turned around and found himself staring into the red sunglasses of Scott Summers, with Jean by his side. Scott glared at him from behind his shades and clamped down on his wrist like a vise.  
  
"Duncan, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Jean shouted at him furiously.  
  
"Jean, listen, I can explain. I, AAH!" he shouted as Scott squeezed his wrist harder. "Explain what?" Scott asked him. "That you're trying to hurt our friends?"  
  
"Jean, please!" Duncan shouted hysterically. "Listen to me. What they're doing, it's wrong! I was doing this for you!"  
  
"For me?" Jean asked incredulously. "What, do you think that what they have is taking away from our relationship?"  
  
"Yes!" Duncan said, thinking that she got it.  
  
Jean walked up to Duncan and got right up in his face. "If that's what you think, then what we had didn't mean a thing to begin with. We're through!"  
  
Scott released his hold on Duncan's wrist. "I think you'd better get going, Duncan. I'm not quite as forgiving as she is, and I don't think Glen's too willing to let bygones be bygones either," he said, nodding at Glen, who had gotten back up.  
  
Glen simply looked at Duncan. "Listen Duncan, I don't care what you think about us. But don't think that you can go around trying to ignore what we have with each other. I'm here, I'm queer, so get used to it,"  
  
Duncan didn't say anything, but just looked at Glen like he had suddenly turned purple. "You're crazy! You're all plain nuts!" he said finally, and ran off, his friends following close behind.  
  
Scott and Glen watched them run off. "Thanks Scott," Glen said.  
  
"Don't mention it. We stick together, always. But next time, try and pick your fights a little more carefully. We might not always be able to back you up,"  
  
"Gotcha," said Glen. "I just hope he got the message,"  
  
Sam listened to Glen and Scott talk. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain race up and down his spine. He had no conscious way of knowing that Magneto had just activated the implant in his brain, and could now directly send commands to Sam's body. He convulsed in agony, and then all of a sudden it was past. His brief spasm went unseen by the other three. Sam felt like something was sitting on his brain, but he couldn't say or do anything about it. He felt completely helpless as he felt himself walk up to Glen and take his hand. He was surprised to hear himself asking Glen why he didn't use his powers to handle the bullies.  
  
Glen looked at Sam. "I could have, but it was better not to. They already have enough of a problem with us being gay. They don't need to find out I'm a mutant too," he said.  
  
"You said that you had been doing a bunch of training. Do you think I could see what all you do sometime?" Sam heard himself ask. "And maybe I could get in a session myself. What happens if I get jumped when I'm all by myself?"  
  
Glen considered this. He and Sam couldn't be together every moment of every day. Sam had a good point; if he was attacked when he was by himself, he would have a better chance in a fight if he knew how to defend himself. "What do you think, Scott?" he asked. "Think we could have a guest for training today?"  
  
Scott paused while he thought about it. "We might be able to work that in. We wouldn't put him through an actual Danger Room session, but we might be able to give him a little self-defense training, basic stuff. Sound good, Sam?"  
  
"Sure," Sam heard himself say. From his control room, Magneto deactivated his cerebral implant. He had what he needed for now; access to the Institute. Once the boy was in, he would need to wait until he was with as few people as possible before he activated the implant again. And he especially needed Jean Grey to be somewhere else. From Sam's viewpoint, Magneto had seen her face, and judging by her expression, she was at least partly aware of the mental link between himself and the boy. If she detected it, his plans would be severely compromised.  
  
As the implant deactivated, Sam felt the pressure on his brain vanish, and with it went all memory of its presence. For a second, Sam thought that there had been something else in his mind, telling him what words to speak, but he shook it off quickly. As far as he knew, he had been in full control of himself during the last few minutes. He saw Jean looking at him a bit odd. "What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," she said. "I thought I could sense something from you, just for a moment, something that was coming from outside, but then it vanished,"  
  
"Do you think I might have mutant powers too?" Sam asked, half-jokingly but not completely unhopeful.  
  
"No, Sam, as far as I can tell you aren't a mutant," Jean said with a wink.  
  
"Aww," Sam said coyly. "Would have been nice."  
  
"Hey, don't kid yourself," she said. "They're not all they're cracked up to be at times," She looked at Scott. "Ready to head back home?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," he said, and took her hand. Together, the two couples walked hand in hand to their cars, and from there drove back to the Institute for some special training sessions.  
  
X 


	6. Faulty communications

From his control room, Magneto continued to observe the transmissions from Sam's implants. Everything the boy saw and heard, Magneto saw and heard. Right now, he was listening to Glen telling Sam how they would change the world by being more open with their relationship. Magneto curled his lip at the boy's naiveté. Being more open was not going to change anybody's opinions, he thought. All it would do would be to give people a visible target for their fears. If Glen truly wanted to change the world, Magneto thought, then he should reveal his powers and give people a REAL reason to be afraid of him, and then use that fear to his advantage. He absent- mindedly ran his fingers over a particular button on the control panel as he looked over at Mystique, standing next to him and watching the screen in silence.  
  
Mystique caught Magneto's glance as she watched the monitor, and thanked whatever god that might exist that the mutant sitting next to her wasn't telepathic; if he could read her mind, he might kill her on the spot for what she had been thinking. At the moment, she had been thinking her own son, Kurt. About the experiments that Magneto had subjected him to shortly after his birth, and their tragic consequences. Mystique had been perfectly content to raise the boy by herself and let his powers develop naturally, but Magneto had been impatient, and insisted on his "treatments" in order to give the boy enhanced abilities. Somehow, along the way, something had gone horribly wrong; a contaminated strand of DNA, a flaw in the re- sequencing program, and the results had been freakish even by her standards. She recalled her hysteric flight from Magneto's castle that night, trying to save her son from any further harm, only to lose him, possibly forever. Magneto had not killed her that night, but had exacted her unswerving loyalty in exchange. That was why she was still by his side now; she had no means of confronting him or just flat out leaving. She was no match for Magneto, even with the Brotherhood at her side. And besides, she thought, where would I go? To Xavier? Never. Even if Kurt was there.  
  
She watched Magneto toying with the button on the console in front of him. He had insisted that she be here so that he could again display his cruelty and remind her of his control over her. As if turning her son partly into an animal hadn't been bad enough, now Magneto was going to make her watch as he killed a perfectly innocent boy, not even a mutant at that, all so he could move closer to the day when he would be seen as the King of mutants.  
  
"Very soon now, Mystique. The boy will be where we want him, and then we can begin," Magneto said ominously. Mystique continued to gaze at the screen, powerless to change the course of events that were about to unfold.  
  
  
  
Scott, Jean, Glen and Sam arrived back at the Institute. Inside, Scott announced to the rest of the X-Men that their normal training session would be postponed until later that evening, which suited them fine; most of them had school projects that they'd rather be working on. Scott led Glen and Sam down to the Danger Room while Jean stayed upstairs, studying.  
  
Scott paused at the door of the Danger Room and turned to Sam. "Before we start, I want you to promise us that you won't tell people where or how you learned the things we're about to teach you. It took the Professor a lot of convincing before he agreed to let me do this," Scott and Xavier's concerns were genuine. In addition to the issue of their secrecy, the Institute had fallen victim to a hacker earlier that year while a party was going on upstairs. Xavier had had to wipe a LOT of minds that particular evening, and made it clear that visitors were not to be allowed access to the lower levels of the Institute without proper supervision. Which basically meant that nobody got in, period.  
  
"I promise," said Sam. "And thanks again for doing this,"  
  
Scott nodded, and opened the door to the Danger Room. They walked in as the door closed behind them with a pneumatic hiss.  
  
"Now, the best way to win a fight is to not get hit," said Scott. "Nothing personal, but you don't really match up too well against Duncan and his buddies. You wouldn't stand much chance if you went toe to toe with them,"  
  
"So I need to be faster than them," Sam concluded.  
  
"Exactly," said Glen. "If you move fast enough, and they can't hit you, eventually they'll just get frustrated and give up,"  
  
"So we're going to teach you some 'defensive' offensive skills," said Scott. And for the next hour, they taught Sam how to fall properly, recover quickly, and dodge blows. They also taught him a few basic throws and judo moves. Sam took it all in like a sponge, and by the end of the session, Scott and Glen were convinced that Sam would be able to win a fight without even throwing a punch.  
  
"You're doing really well with this," said Glen. "I couldn't even get this stuff down this fast,"  
  
"Thanks," said Sam, wrapping his arm around Glen's and leaning his head against Glen's shoulder. "So when do I get to see what you can do?"  
  
"How about right now?" asked Glen. "Think we could show him what this room can really do?"  
  
"Couldn't do any harm. Just don't over-do it, okay?" said Scott. He then turned to Sam. "Come on, it'll be safer to watch from upstairs," He led Sam out the door and up to the control booth as Glen prepared for the Danger Room to come alive.  
  
Magneto watched Sam follow Scott up to the control booth. "It begins now," he said, and activated the other implants imbedded in Sam's brain.  
  
Scott was too busy working the controls of the Danger Room computer to see the effects of Magneto's implants taking their effect on Sam. As he activated the startup sequence, he didn't see Sam walking over to one of the terminals on the far side of the room.  
  
Magneto continued to send commands through Sam's implants, controlling his movements. At the moment, he was having Sam access the memory banks of the Institute. He had had Pietro plant a special subroutine in the Institute's computer system that would be small enough not to be detected by the computer's virus sweepers. The program didn't do much, but it would allow him to access minor systems in the Institute, such as doors, lights, and.  
  
"Scott, could you come down to the hanger for a minute," Logan's voice rang out from over the intercom. "I need to talk with you about a couple things,"  
  
Scott turned away from the computer and walked over to the intercom. "I'll be down in just a minute," Then he turned to Sam. "Ok, I'll be back in a few minutes. The computer's starting itself up, and it should be running by the time I get back," He then paged Glen down in the Danger Room and informed him of Logan's summons.  
  
"If you're just going to be a minute, why don't we just get started? I can tell him how to load up a training program from down here," Glen replied.  
  
Scott pondered this. As much as he didn't feel comfortable with Sam being alone in the control booth, it made sense. After all, he was just going to be a minute. What harm could it do? "Sounds good," he said, and walked out of the control booth.  
  
Magneto watched Scott depart. He grinned as he sent more commands to Sam's implants, and another page went out over the intercom system of the Institute. His eyes were suddenly drawn to a flashing indicator light on his console. One of the implants that was receiving his commands had malfunctioned. It was still working, but the signal protection system had been compromised. That meant that if a nearby telepath was focusing their powers enough, they would be able to detect the incoming psychic transmissions, and eventually trace them back to their source. He had Sam query the computer, and then made two more pages.  
  
In her room, Jean looked up from her physics book. She had been studying peacefully when her mind had detected something. It was a very faint telepathic signature that had distracted her attention. She concentrated and tried to hone in on the signature. It seemed familiar, one she encountered very recently. Her attention was broken by the intercom system. "Jean, could you come down to the study?" she heard Xavier's voice ask. "I've picked up a strange mental reading,"  
  
Jean triggered the intercom. "I just felt something too. I'll be right down," she said, and walked out of her bedroom. Sam looked up at the security screen in the control booth, his eyes sending Magneto a view of four separate mutants getting up and moving to other parts of the Institute. Next, he walked over to the intercom and called down to the Danger Room. "Which program should I run?" he heard himself ask.  
  
Glen was feeling a little adventurous, despite Scott's request for a mild display. "Try program 6-K," he called back. "It's the fourth one on the list, under 'Urban environments',"  
  
"I see it. Hang on," Sam's voice came back. In the booth, Glen could see Sam working at the computer, and he steeled himself for the onslaught that was about to come; a narrow alley on a dark night, complete with lots of simulated street punks with nasty attitudes.  
  
All of a sudden, the Danger Room went pitch black. Faint red lights came up inside the room a few seconds later. In the dim light, Glen could see Sam stand up and walk outside of the control booth. He could barely make out the words flashing on one of the largest monitors, "Emergency Shutdown Activated,"  
  
Scott walked into the hanger, expecting to see Logan. Instead, all he saw was the Blackbird, sitting in its usual place. "Where is he?" Scott wondered to himself. He got his answer a second later when the door opened and Logan walked in. "What'd you want to see me about?" Logan asked him.  
  
"Wait a sec. I thought you wanted to see me," Scott said, confused.  
  
"Don't get smart, kid. I got a message over the 'com that said to meet you down here. Now what's going on?"  
  
"That's what I want to know," Scott said. Was somebody playing games with them?  
  
Sam walked down the halls of the Institute's lowest level. He could feel the haze lifting slightly from his mind as he became aware of his surroundings. Because of the malfunction to his implant, he could actually feel his body moving, against his will. He tried to stop his legs, but they marched on, oblivious to his commands. "What's happening to me?" he thought to himself.  
  
Up in the study, Jean encountered a concerned-looking professor Xavier. "Jean!" he said. "Your powers, are they starting to surge again?" He had gotten a message from Jean, saying that her powers were starting to go haywire again. The last time this had happened, the Institute had wound up with an unintended skylight, and Xavier was very worried that a similar surge in Jean's powers could do more serious damage this time.  
  
"What are you talking about, professor? My powers are fine. Now what was this mental reading you were talking about?" Judging by the professor's raised eyebrow, she could tell that she had been just as mislead as him.  
  
"Perhaps there's some problem with the intercom," the professor said.  
  
"How could that be?" asked Jean. "I thought Forge upgraded it last week,"  
  
"It would seem that there are still some bugs to work out," quipped Xavier.  
  
"Hang on, professor. Just before I got paged, I did sense something, very faintly. It wasn't the first time I've felt this; I picked up the same reading earlier this afternoon, or at least I thought I did. I could have sworn the first time I got it that it was coming from Sam,"  
  
"I don't know what to make of that, Jean," said Xavier. "We've already confirmed that the boy doesn't have the X-gene, so those readings couldn't have been coming from him,"  
  
"I know," said Jean. "It was like something else were projecting the readings, onto Sam,"  
  
Xavier considered that. Could there be some mutant out there with a powerful enough mind to project psychic readings directly onto another person's mind? Xavier could only think of one mutant whose powers were anywhere near that advanced. But he couldn't have gotten that strong, could he? Xavier asked himself.  
  
"I don't know what we can do about this for now," Xavier said. "Keep trying to trace this signal, and let me know if you find anything. I'll also be trying to trace it," With that, he turned and wheeled out of the room.  
  
In the Danger Room, Glen struggled with the grate covering the vent shaft. Wherever Sam was going, Glen thought, he had to stop him before he got hurt. The Danger Room wasn't the only place in the Institute's basement that one had to watch their step in. He finally pried the grate off and crawled up into the vent shaft. He made his way through the narrow shaft in almost total darkness. He came to a T-junction and paused, debating which way to go. If he wanted to get back to the main hallway, he would need to go left, but if he went that way, he would run into the security measures that Forge had installed to keep people from doing the reverse of what he was trying to do now. But if he went right, he could be crawling around the bowels of the Institute for hours, and he didn't have that sort of time. He went down the left shaft, hoping for the best. When he got to the first laser screen, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that it was inactive. When Sam shut down the Danger Room, it must have deactivated the security system as well. He crawled past where the screen would have been and kept on going.  
  
Back in the hanger, Scott and Logan were baffled by what was going on. "There's gotta be a problem with the 'com system. I think this is someone's idea of a joke," Logan growled.  
  
"Hang on a minute," said Scott, keeping a cool head. "How is it that we both get called down here and neither of us paged the other?" He switched on the intercom and called upstairs. "Jean, it's Scott. Have you gotten any weird messages over the 'com in the last few minutes?"  
  
"Only from the professor, which he said he never sent," Jean said back into the intercom. "And he said he got one from me, but I haven't been on the comms until just now,"  
  
"Ok," said Scott. "We're gonna try and figure out what's going on down here. I'll call you back if we find anything,"  
  
"Sure, Scott," Jean said, and went back to trying to track the source. She had almost had it pinpointed before Scott had called up. After a few moments, she had it located. But what she found made no sense; it was very close by, and moving. She focused hard, and her eyes went wide when she realized exactly where the source was. "Professor!" she called out, and ran to Xavier's room to tell him what she had found.  
  
Sam reached an imposing door at the end of a hallway. Large electronic letters above the door said: "Cerebro chamber. Authorized personnel only," He felt himself kneel down next to a terminal and saw his hands pull the casing off the wall. He watched as his hands reached inside the panel and began pulling out random wires and touching their ends together. Sam tried to keep control of his hands, but he could not do so. Suddenly, he felt a brief second of control; his hands stopped for a moment, but then went back to their task of trying to short out the door controls.  
  
Magneto started as Sam briefly regained himself. For a moment, the implant had shorted out completely, but then had resumed its control. A few seconds later, it shorted out again, this time for a slightly longer period. On the screen, Magneto saw Sam look at his own hands before they were again taken over by the implant.  
  
Sam saw his hands reaching back into the panel and grabbing another wire. Whatever was controlling him, it was starting to lose its power. He concentrated very hard, and pulled himself backwards.  
  
On Magneto's monitor board, the light representing the implant's status changed from yellow to red, meaning that it had been compromised and was no longer receiving commands. He looked up at the screen just in time to see Sam fall backwards.  
  
As Sam pulled back, his fists clenched as he regained control over them. He fell backwards, pulling several wires out of the wall. There was a shower of sparks, and an alarm klaxon went off as the hallway went red.  
  
In the hanger, a similar alarm had sounded. It took Logan and Scott two seconds to realize the same thing; somebody was trying to break into Cerebro. "Come on!" shouted Logan, and they took off running out of the hanger and down the corridor. 


	7. Broken Hearts

Wolverine and Scott hurried down the long corridors of the basement of the Xavier Institute, desperately racing to get to Cerebro's chamber before the thief could get inside. As they passed the Danger Room, they heard a clatter of metal as a grate fell from the ceiling. A moment later, Glen dropped down from the vent shaft. "What's going on?" he asked the two mutants.  
  
"Somebody's trying to break into Cerebro," said Wolverine. "Why were you crawling down in the vent shafts?"  
  
"Something's wrong with Sam. He shut down the Danger Room and then left the control booth," said Glen.  
  
"Gotta be another one of Mystique's tricks," growled Logan. "She probably replaced your friend to get in here. Looks like you've been sleeping with the enemy, kid,"  
  
"You can't be serious!" Glen said.  
  
"We'll find out in a minute," said Scott. "Come on!" The three of them took off down the hallway. They rounded the corner and saw the doors to Cerebro's chamber at the far end. Glen put on speed, hoping to reach Sam first, before Wolverine could, but he was too late.  
  
Wolverine grabbed Sam by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Sorry, kid. This ain't part of the tour!" he snarled, his claws gleaming.  
  
Glen grabbed hold of Wolverine's arm. "Logan! Stop!" he said, hoping to be able to keep the mutant from skewering his friend alive. Sam closed his eyes in terror, waiting for the blow.  
  
"I think you were wrong about this being Mystique," Scott said after a moment.  
  
Wolverine turned on Glen. "Alright, so he's the real thing. How much did you tell him about what's going on here?" he asked furiously.  
  
"Nothing!" Glen shouted back desperately. "There's no way he could know to come down here on his own,"  
  
"Then why did he shut down the Danger Room, and why was he trying to break into Cerebro?" Scott asked.  
  
"I don't know. Something's definitely not right here," Glen replied.  
  
Magneto slowly traced his fingers along the black switch on his control panel. He had Glen right where he wanted him. It was time. He flipped the switch, and then watched the screen as the view began to distort and change to static. He caught a look of horror come over Glen before the image went dark. "Begin preparing for the next stage of operations," he said to Mystique, not looking at her. Had he done so, he would have seen a look of pure contempt in her eyes. He stood and walked out of the room, leaving her alone, staring at the blank screen. After a moment, she sighed heavily and left the room from the other side.  
  
Glen had turned to ask Sam what was happening, but before he could open his mouth to speak, he saw a spasm of pain wrack Sam's features as blood began to trickle from his nostrils and from his ears. Wolverine dropped Sam in surprise, and the boy collapsed to the floor in a heap. "SAM!!!" shrieked Glen in horror as the boy's face began to turn blue.  
  
Logan rushed over to the wall and hit the intercom. "Chuck, you'd better get down to the infirmary NOW!!!" he shouted into the 'com, then turned around and picked up Sam, threw the boy over his shoulder and sprinted down the hall.  
  
In the infirmary, Logan placed Sam on one of the diagnostic beds and activated the scanners. By now, his whole face had gone purple. The bed began emitting a sporadic series of beeps, corresponding with Sam's rapidly dropping heart rate.  
  
"What's happening to him?" Glen asked desperately.  
  
"He's stopped breathing. Stand back!" Logan said, pulling off the boy's shirt and attaching a pair of electrodes to his chest. "Clear!" he shouted, and a pulse of electricity coursed through Sam's body. Sam's body nearly leapt off the table, but still showed signs of life. "Scott, turn up the voltage to 70," said Logan. Scott adjusted the controls on the diagnostic bed, and a second later, more voltage went through Sam's body. This time, the spasm was significantly less. "Again!" Logan said, with the same result. "Set it to 80. Hurry!"  
  
Behind all this, the doors of the infirmary calmly slid open as Xavier and Jean Gray walked into the chaos. "What's happening?" they asked as one.  
  
"He was trying to get into Cerebro's room," said Logan. "And then all of a sudden he just stopped breathing!"  
  
"Is he dying? Can you save him?" Glen asked, frantic.  
  
"Scott," Xavier said, nodding towards Glen. Scott walked over to Glen and took his arm. "I think we should wait outside," he said, forcing himself to be calm. He pulled Glen towards the door slightly, hoping he would come willingly.  
  
"Wait! No!" Glen shouted as Scott pulled him away from the table. He tried to pull away from Scott, but Scott was stronger, and forcibly dragged him out of the infirmary.  
  
"Let me go!" shouted Glen as he tried to break free from Scott. Scott held firm, and finally Glen stopped struggling. "I know they'll do everything they can for him," Scott said, trying to reassure the both of them. "We just need to wait," Glen said nothing, but leaned back against the wall, his head pressing down against his chest.  
  
Back inside, Wolverine continued to struggle in his efforts to revive Sam. He was coming dangerously close to doing permanent damage to the boy with the level of voltage he was using. The indicator of Sam's heart rate had flat-lined, and the heart monitor was producing a steady whine. Logan administered one last dose of voltage, and then finally stepped back, his shoulders hunched in defeat. "That's it. He's gone,"  
  
Xavier and Jean lowered their eyes. "I should go tell Glen," Jean said softly, and stepped out of the room.  
  
Xavier related to Logan what he and Jean had been able to piece together; that somehow, Magneto had been sending mental commands to Sam's brain by some kind of implant. Logan did a quick diagnostic and confirmed what he had just heard. "Look at this," he said, pointing to the diagnostic screen. "There's some kinda metal objects lodged in his skull. One here, behind his eyes, and another in his brain. And then there's this one here. It looks like it just emitted some kinda electric shock and blew out the kid's entire nervous system. Paralyzed everything in his body, including his lungs. Poor kid," he muttered.  
  
"Tell Scott, Jean, Storm, and Beast that I want to see them upstairs in the library in 15 minutes. I'll need you there too," Xavier said, and turned to go. "We have a VERY serious problem on our hands," he said, wheeling towards the exit.  
  
Glen and Scott both looked up as Jean walked out of the infirmary. "Is he alright?" Glen asked, already guessing at the answer from the look on Jean's face.  
  
Jean clasped Glen's hand. "I'm so sorry, Glen," she whispered sadly.  
  
Glen felt all the air go out of him at hearing this. "No," he said, barely audible. He suddenly tore away from Jean and running into the infirmary, nearly colliding with Xavier on the way in. He ran up to the table and grasped Sam's limp, lifeless hand. He could already feel it beginning to go cold. He stared at the body on the table in numb disbelief, and then he collapsed to his knees in total defeat, clutching his head in his hands, his whole body shaking as he cried silent tears. He didn't notice Xavier's hand on his shoulder at first, and when he did, he brushed it off and walked out of the room in silence.  
  
  
  
  
  
Xavier had gathered Storm, Wolverine, Beast, Scott, and Jean together in the library of the Institute for an emergency council. Together, they discussed how best to handle this situation  
  
"What the hell are we going to do when the kid's parents show up and find out their son's dead?" Wolverine asked. Nobody knew how to answer that particular question.  
  
"If they find out the truth, things could get pretty bad," said Scott. "This could wind up in court,"  
  
"Or worse," said Storm. "The media could get word of this. If they did."  
  
"We might as well pack up and go live on the moon," grumbled Wolverine, finishing her sentence.  
  
Xavier furrowed his brow in frustration. They were all now in very real danger of being exposed. If Sam's parents took this to court, as they likely would, life at the Institute would be ripped horribly asunder, and none of the residents would be free to so much as walk outside without being thought of as a murderer. And this would ultimately fall squarely on his shoulders. If what he and Jean suspected was true, if this was truly Magneto's work, then he was very close to his goal of exposing the X-Men to the world.  
  
Storm was apparently thinking along the same lines as Xavier. "What sort of man would murder an innocent child just to expose us?" she asked.  
  
Wolverine pounded his fist on the table. "Isn't it obvious? Magneto wants us out of the picture so he can play King of the Mutants. He's out to expose us at any cost,"  
  
"And doing it this way, he doesn't have to lift a finger. He can just sit back and laugh while the whole world crashes down on us. Absolutely brilliant," Scott said glumly.  
  
"I had not thought Magneto would go to these lengths to expose us," said Xavier sadly. "I have underestimated again, this time critically so,"  
  
"Look, the kid's parents are on their way over here right now," said Logan. "We need to think of something to say when they show up,"  
  
"What can we possibly say?" asked Jean. "Hi, sorry, your son accidentally got killed while he was over here?"  
  
Wolverine growled. "Well what do you want to tell them?"  
  
"Maybe we don't have to tell them anything," Scott said softly.  
  
All eyes looked at Scott. "What do you mean, Scott?" asked Beast.  
  
"The last time we had something anywhere close to this happening was at that party, when Arcade broke into the Danger Room. Professor, you just wiped out everybody's minds who came over that night,"  
  
Jean was taken aback somewhat. "Scott, I know you're worried about what's going to come out of all of this, but are you suggesting just giving them some kind of false memories about how their son died?"  
  
"It's better than opening this all up for the world to see," said Logan.  
  
Jean looked over at Xavier. "Professor, are you actually considering this?" she asked.  
  
Xavier sighed deeply. This was a very difficult decision. "I don't like this, Jean. But I don't see any other choice. We CANNOT be exposed in this manner. If we were, it would completely ruin any chance mutants have of being accepted into society, which is exactly what Magneto wants,"  
  
"We could alter the autopsy results to go along with whatever story you give them, Professor," said Scott.  
  
Beast stood up. "I'm not a doctor, so I'm not technically bound by the Hippocratic oath. But I think what you're talking about is absolutely abominable. Deliberately lying to the boy's parents about how their son died? Manipulating their memories so that they'll actually believe it? I know the circumstances are grave, but I can't believe we're even talking about doing this! Must we place such a great value on our secrecy that we are willing to conceal murder?"  
  
"I think Mr. McCoy's right," said Jean. "It may be time to face up to what's going to happen. We can't keep hiding forever,"  
  
Wolverine was furious. He jumped up and got right in Jean's face. "Are you saying you actually WANT to be exposed?" he yelled at Jean. "Think about what's going to happen. Every day, people will look at you like a freak, and if they don't say it to your face, they'll be whispering it behind your back. Every time you turn on the TV, or read a newspaper, you're going to see somebody ranting about how mutants are monsters and need to be gotten rid of to protect society. Is that what you really want?'  
  
"Enough! Everybody calm down!" shouted Xavier. "Hank, Jean, I understand your concerns, and under lesser circumstances, I might be willing to accept whatever consequences may come of this. But there is too much at stake right now. Besides, if we can't trace this back to Magneto, the entire burden for this situation will fall squarely on OUR shoulders. We'll keep looking for a way to prove Magneto's involvement in this, and one day we'll step out into the world, but it has to be on our terms. In the meantime, we have work to do," With that, he grimly wheeled out of the room, leaving the rest of the mutants behind him. 


	8. Retribution

Sam's parents had been shattered when they arrived and saw their son dead, but thanks to Xavier's mental powers and the altered autopsy, they believed that he had died in a accident, unrelated to Glen or anybody else at the Institute. They had, at Xavier's suggestion, arranged for a private funeral, which Xavier funded. They had also consented to Glen's attendance at the ceremony a few days later. Only Xavier, Glen, and Jean had gone along. At the funeral, they had cried with Glen and consoled him the best they could, but he still had not said a word since that fateful night.  
  
When they arrived home, Glen walked silently up to his room and closed the door, and turned on his CD player with the disc Sam had given him. He turned the volume all the way up, trying to blot out the images in his head of Sam lying dead on the cold steel table. Soon, the track changed to another Shostakovich song, the 4th Ballet suite. At full volume, the speakers began to vibrate as the piece grew louder and louder in intensity. Kitty could hear it from down the hall in her room and went over to Glen's room. She pounded on the door. "Glen, please, let me in!" she shouted, hoping to be able to console him before the roof began to cave in. Her pleas went unanswered, and she went back to her room to wait out the cascade of sound.  
  
Downstairs, Xavier convened another meeting of the senior residents of the Institute. The rifts that had developed the last time were still apparent, but less pronounced. All of the mutants seemed to have a sense that what had happened was done and they might as well move on. Xavier filled in everybody who didn't already know on the cause of Sam's death, and began to explain about the implants that had been controlling the boy. "The surgical technique used was remarkable. The scars were barely detectable to the naked eye,"  
  
"So these implants let Magneto see what Sam was seeing?" asked Storm.  
  
"Yes," said Xavier. "The military doesn't even have this level of technology. Magneto's the only one who could have designed this,"  
  
Glen lay on his bed as the music stopped. He sat for a few moments in silence, then got up and went over to the table in his room. He looked longingly at the pictures on it; the ones of himself and Sam. He picked one up and held it very close, then set it back on the table, face down. Then he picked up another one. This was the picture he, Kurt, and Kitty had had taken together at the mall. It seemed like it had been a lifetime ago, even though it had actually been less than a week. There was a knock at the door. He looked at the picture of the frame for a few seconds, thinking to himself. "Yes, it's hurting now," he thought, "but they're your friends too, and you can't just keep pushing them away if you want the pain to go away," He clutched the picture frame very tightly, then set it down, walked open to the door, and opened it. Kitty was standing outside.  
  
"Can I come in?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," said Glen, softly. Kitty walked in and they sat down on Glen's bed together.  
  
"Do you listen to that music a lot?" she asked after a moment.  
  
"Only when I'm really depressed," said Glen. "It helps me get everything out. All the pain, the frustration. But it's not doing much good now,"  
  
"Maybe this is the kind of thing that music can't help," said Kitty.  
  
"Maybe not, but when I was listening to it, I couldn't hear him screaming. I couldn't see him. lying there on that table. For a moment, I could imagine that he was still here with me," Glen looked over at her. "Have you ever seen somebody you really love die?" Kitty shook her head, not saying anything.  
  
"When he. when he died," Glen said, forcing out the words. "I could see everything we had done, and everything we might possibly accomplish together, all bound together in one moment. And then that was suddenly snuffed out. You can't imagine what that's like, knowing that everything you might be able to do will never happen," He suddenly slammed his fist down on the bed in anger. "Why'd I have to get caught up in all of this?" he asked. "Why couldn't I just have a normal life? There's no way having all these powers can be worth all this!"  
  
Kitty took his hand. "Glen, do you believe in fate?"  
  
"I don't really know what I believe in any more," he said.  
  
"Glen, please don't say that," Kitty said. "I know you're wishing none of this had happened; so am I. But you can't just wish this away. You have your powers for a reason. Like it or not, you'll have to accept that you have a purpose, that you are one of the first people that will have to tell people about mutants. It's going to hurt at times, but it IS worth it. You have to find a way to move on from this,"  
  
Glen stood up. "Look, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up," he said. "But I've lost too much. I can't just keep telling myself to keep up the fight, because I don't know what I have left to fight for,"  
  
"You're not talking about leaving?" gasped Kitty.  
  
"I don't know," said Glen. "But it's going to be hard for me to stay here and keep working with the X-Men until I sort all of this out,"  
  
Kitty was suddenly angry. How could Glen just walk away from everything they had built over the last couple of months? His boyfriend's death was no reason to completely throw away the family he had become a part of, was it? "You want a reason to stay? Fine, I'll give you a reason to stay. Magneto. That's your reason. He's the one responsible for all of this," She realized as Glen's eyes went wide that she had said way too much.  
  
"Magneto did this?" Glen asked incredulously. He turned to walk out of the room.  
  
"Glen, wait! I thought they told you!" Kitty shouted after him, but Glen was already gone. She sunk back down on Glen's bed. Like, now I've done it, she thought.  
  
Glen walked through the mansion with blood on his mind until he came to the library where Xavier was talking with the senior residents of the Institute. He considered just storming in and demanding to know why he had been kept in the dark, but when he heard the terse conversations going on inside, he decided to wait and listen in.  
  
"Were you able to find out where Magneto was sendin' these signals from?" Wolverine asked gruffly.  
  
"No," said Jean. "The professor and I both tried to track them back to their origin, but we couldn't figure out where they were coming from,"  
  
"Magneto was simply too well shielded against our minds," said Xavier. "We knew that the signals were of his mind, but we couldn't get anything further than that,"  
  
"Do you have any actual data of this?" Scott asked.  
  
"What we have is sketchy at best," said Xavier. "But the residual psychic signature we recovered from the implant matches the data we have on Magneto's brain patterns,"  
  
"Why the sudden concern for evidence?" asked Storm. "Are you proposing some kind of legal action?"  
  
"Yes," said Scott.  
  
"Forget it!" said Wolverine. "In case you forgot, we're mutants. We don't have any rights! If we go into court, they'd probably arrest US, no matter what sort of evidence we bring in,"  
  
"So we just sit back and do nothing?" Scott asked.  
  
"Hell no! We go after him ourselves, and we resolve this OUR way," snarled Wolverine, unsheathing the claws of his right hand.  
  
Glen had heard enough. He pushed open the door and walked into the room. "Wolverine's right," he said. "We can't bring Magneto to justice, but we can bring justice to him!"  
  
Everybody except Logan looked up in shock as Glen walked in.  
  
"Glen," said Xavier. "Violence will not help us resolve this manner,"  
  
"Neither will the courts," said Glen. "There's only one way to deal with this, and I'll do it myself if I have to. Now, why didn't you tell me that Magneto had done this? Didn't you think you could trust me?"  
  
Scott answered before Xavier could. "You're sorta proving that right now," he said, and instantly regretted it as Glen shot him a look that would have frozen anybody faster than Bobby could with his ice powers. "Scott!" Jean hissed at him. "Er, sorry," mumbled Scott. "I meant that you've gone through enough already, and knowing what had happened would have made things even worse for you,"  
  
"You're right," said Glen flatly. "They're worse,"  
  
"Glen, please try and restrain your anger," said Xavier. "I promise you, the moment we find more details about Magneto's whereabouts, we WILL take action. I assure you that Magneto will NOT go unpunished, we just have to find him first, and that is going to take some time,"  
  
"I'm sorry, Professor, but I don't have the luxury of waiting," Glen said, and walked quickly out of the room.  
  
Scott rose to follow Glen, but Wolverine put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me go after him. I can talk some sense into him," he said.  
  
Glen opened the door to the garage and walked inside. He passed the X-Jeep and Scott's vintage Corvette, but stopped alongside Wolverine's motorcycle. He hesitated, considering how Logan would react when he came down to find his bike missing, but cast caution aside. After all, he would need a small vehicle if he wanted to approach the Brotherhood undetected. He grabbed a helmet off the wall and was about to fire up the engine when the lights in the garage flared on. "Goin' out for a ride, bub?"  
  
"I'm going to find Magneto, even if I have to tear the entire Brotherhood apart to get to him,"  
  
"Bad idea, kid," Logan said. "I don't think you'd be able to talk much sense into ol' bucket-head if you actually did find him, and I doubt even more that you're ready to take him on in a fight,"  
  
"Yes I am!" hissed Glen.  
  
"Look kid, I know you think you're a hot shot and everything, but you don't know what Magneto's capable of. You've never even seen him before. And besides, you couldn't even hold your own in the simulator against Red a couple days ago. You go up against Magneto and he'll take you apart,"  
  
"So what the hell am I supposed to do? Just let him get away with murder?"  
  
"Listen Glen, I understand you've lost somebody very close to you. And I know what it's like to have a vendetta. But what you're thinking about doing goes beyond crazy. It's suicide! Is that what you really want?"  
  
Glen grimaced, the tears starting to flow freely down his face.  
  
Logan continued. "I know you want to make up for your friend's death. But going after Magneto by yourself isn't gonna do you or Sam any good. Let us help you. We all go together, we can bring Magneto to justice. Otherwise, you wind up dead too, or worse, and Sam's death will be for nothing,"  
  
Glen nodded as the words of truth sank in. "Alright," he sniffed. "We'll do this together," He extended his hand to Logan, who grasped it firmly.  
  
"I'll talk to Charles, see if we can put some kind of plan together for going after Magneto. Meantime, why don't you head back inside?"  
  
"I will, but there's something I have to do first," said Glen, hopping on the bike. "I'll be back in a half-hour. I promise!" With that, he revved up the bike and drove off.  
  
Logan scowled, but let Glen go. "Just don't do anything stupid, kid. And be careful," he muttered, and then went back inside, closing up the garage behind him.  
  
Glen drove through the empty streets of Bayville. The night was silent and there was no other traffic around. After about 10 minutes, he arrived at the cemetery. Dismounting, he climbed over the locked gate and walked past the rows of tombstones until he came to the one he was looking for. A moonbeam shone down across the stone from above, casting its light. The stone read: Samuel J Thomas, beloved son. 1984-2002.  
  
Glen sat down on the ground in front of it. "Hello, Sam," he said, reaching out and touching the stone. Again, he burst out crying. "God, I'm so sorry this happened to you!" he cried. "I never should have gotten you involved in any of this! I'd do anything to have you back!" He wept openly for 5 minutes at the loss of his friend. He had almost never cried this much in his entire life.  
  
Glen didn't notice the woman who had walked up behind him until she made her presence known. "Hello, Glen," she said in a deep voice.  
  
Glen looked up, instantly angered that somebody would disturb him now, of all times. He recognized the woman as Mystique from the briefings he had received from the X-Men about the Brotherhood and its members. His first instinct was to simply attack her, out of vengeance, but a voice inside told him to hold back and listen to what she had to say.  
  
"What do you want?" he said darkly.  
  
"I couldn't help overhearing that last bit of what you said, about how you'd do anything to have your lover back," she said, her voice taking on a cat-like quality.  
  
"Like you can do anything about this," Glen said, waving at Sam's grave with his hand. "Professor Xavier told me that you and Magneto did this! Why should I even be listening to you?"  
  
"Because we can offer you a way to set things right," Mystique said.  
  
"That's impossible!" shouted Glen. "And even if it were, I won't help a bunch of murdering scum like you," Mystique glared at him. "I'm afraid I'll have to insist," she said, and four figures stepped out from behind the cover of nearby trees. Glen could make out the faces of the Brotherhood in the moonlight. "What's wrong Glen? Can't sleep without your little boyfriend?" Lance Alvers said mockingly.  
  
Glen's inner rage suddenly went through the roof. He let out a fierce scream and lashed out, punching Lance across the jaw and sending the mutant reeling. Lance got to his feet and licked at the drops of blood dripping from his split lip. "I'm gonna enjoy this even more than I enjoyed grabbing your boyfriend!" He clenched his fist and the ground began to shake.  
  
Glen jumped sideways as the ground split open underneath him, creating a deep chasm. He had a split second to recover as Fred charged at him. Glen dodged the blow of the massive teenager, but was struck from behind as Toad jumped onto his back and wrapped his hands around Glen's head. Glen staggered around blindly, trying to shake Toad off of him, but the mutant held on too tightly. By now, Glen was beginning to gag, both from Toad's choke-hold as well as his noxious body odor. Seeing a tree in front of him, Glen quickly spun around and jumped backwards, smashing Toad against the tree. Mercifully, the strangle-hold loosened and Glen collapsed to a knee, gasping for breath. As he rose, he was suddenly tripped up as a silver flash zoomed by him. He got up but was knocked down again. Glen looked up to see Pietro laughing at him. Glen shot a stasis bolt at him, but Pietro simply dodged it and ran rings around Glen for extra effect. Glen shot bolt after bolt but couldn't hit the boy. Pietro skidded to a stop as Glen began to tire. "Forget it! I'm just too fast for ya!" he said and took off running again.  
  
Glen sighed, the duration of the battle beginning to take its toll on him. Logan was right; despite his improved skills, he still just wasn't in peak physical shape yet. "Gotta find a way to slow him down" Glen thought to himself. He concentrated very hard, and a temporal double began to appear beside him. He pointed towards where Pietro's flight plan was taking him, and the double began moving forward. At the same time, he phased out of time, planning to reappear directly behind Pietro.  
  
In the hyper-blur that was Pietro's fast-paced world, the boy suddenly saw a figure appear in front of him. He skidded to a stop directly in front of a figure he recognized as Glen, which took a combat stance. "So, you want some more, eh?" Pietro asked the image. He suddenly felt somebody tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Glen, again. "What the?" he exclaimed, very confused. He looked back and forth between the two Glens several times. As he looked forward again, the real Glen struck him hard across the face. Pietro's last conscious thought for a while would be, "There's TWO of him?!"  
  
"Two down," Glen thought, but before he could revel further in his success, a pair of massive hands seized him from behind as Fred lifted him off the ground. Fred carried him over his head to the hole in the ground that Lance had made, and tossed Glen in. Glen hit the ground with a thud. He slowly got up and tried to climb out, but the hole was too deep.  
  
"Haw haw!" Fred laughed as he watched Glen struggle to jump out of the pit. "Time-travel boy never even saw it coming!"  
  
"Nice one!" said Lance, walking up alongside Fred. "Now let's bury him!" he cackled.  
  
"Wait!" called Mystique, stepping back out of the shadows. "We need him alive, remember?' With that, she pulled out a small sphere and tossed it down into the pit. It landed next to Glen, and a moment later pink smoke began pouring out of it. Glen coughed as he fought to remain conscious but finally succumbed and passed out.  
  
Glen awoke to find himself strapped to a table. Looking around, he could see he was in some kind of large lab. The ceiling was awash with electric- purple energy, the same color as his stasis bolts. Before he could take further stock of his environment, the table began to rotate upwards until he was perpendicular to the floor. Before him, he saw a figure sitting in a chair behind a desk. The figure in the chair turned around to face Glen, the light reflecting of his helmeted head.  
  
"Hello, Glen," he said. "I am Magneto,"  
  
X 


	9. Changing Times

Magneto stood up and removed his helmet. Glen saw a man of about 60 with shining silver hair walking towards him.  
  
"I understand you've been looking for me," Magneto said to Glen.  
  
"That's right," Glen replied through clenched teeth.  
  
"Well," said Magneto. "I'm glad we've found each other. We have much to discuss,"  
  
"I'm usually not very talkative when I'm tied up," said Glen.  
  
"Indeed. Well, I suppose it's the least I can do," Magneto said, waving his hand. With a loud hum, Glen's restraints unlocked, and he slid down to the floor. "Better?" Magneto asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Much," replied Glen, his own voice equally saturated. "Now what's this important business we have?"  
  
"First of all, allow me to apologize for the loss of your friend. It was unfortunate, but necessary,"  
  
"Necessary?" Glen roared. "How can you call cold-blooded murder necessary!"  
  
"Not cold-blooded," Magneto said strongly. "I am not a man who kills without thought as to the consequences of such an action. I needed your friend because I need you,"  
  
"Me? What do you need with me?"  
  
"Forgive me, I'll explain more thoroughly. As you may already be aware, I have been assembling my own team of mutants, much like Professor Xavier. A pity I couldn't find you before he did. I could have taught you much,"  
  
"I'm not interested any of your lessons," Glen retorted.  
  
"You may find that you can learn something from me after all," said Magneto. "But no matter. Unfortunately, my own recruiting efforts have been somewhat lacking as of late. It seems that my dear friend Charles has been able to recruit new mutants to his side as soon as their abilities emerge. Do you have any idea how he is able to do that?"  
  
"Maybe he just smarter than you," Glen said smugly.  
  
"Charles' powers are great, but I assure you, mine are far superior to his. But it is not his powers that are helping him. Rather, he has a machine do all the searching for him, a computer called Cerebro. I'm sure you've seen it,"  
  
"Yeah. What's your point?"  
  
"My point is this. I no longer intend to remain at my current disadvantage. If my own goals are to be accomplished, I shall need greater numbers of mutants at my side. I intend to steal the components of Cerebro and construct my own mutant-finding computer, with some special improvements, of course,"  
  
"Uh huh. And you expect me to help you with this. Forget it,"  
  
"Obviously you've failed to grasp the larger scope of my endeavors. I did not kidnap and brainwash your friend because I thought he might succeed in this theft. Quite the contrary, I knew he would be caught,"  
  
Glen stared at Magneto, his words beginning to sink in as the man continued.  
  
"The chip I implanted in your friend allowed me to control his movements, influence his actions, and even see through his eyes. You can't believe how satisfying it was to see the look on your face when I activated the kill- switch," Magneto said, grinning wickedly. "I used him, and ultimately killed him so I could get to YOU,"  
  
Glen could not believe what he was hearing. Magneto would use Sam as a pawn and casually kill him like he was throwing away a piece of trash, just to get to him "And you honestly expect me to help you after what you've done!"  
  
Magneto's eyes narrowed as his voice became deathly deep. "Let me put it this way. I intend to get what I want, with or without your help. If I have to, I am prepared and capable to launch an all-out attack on your Institute to get those components. And don't think that I'd stop with just killing you lover," he said, with extra emphasis on 'lover'.  
  
Glen's blood was beginning to boil at this point. He clenched his fists open and closed, trying to keep his emotions in check.  
  
"I'd be more than willing to kill every mutant in that Institute to get what I want. But you wouldn't want that, would you? Would you really want the blood of your friends on your hands? Could you live with yourself, knowing that, say, Kitty was dead because of your inaction? Or Kurt? I could tell you something very interesting about Kurt."  
  
Glen let out an anguished yell, his soul not being able to endure any more. He threw himself at Magneto, who casually waved his hand as if he were swatting at a fly. The table that Glen had been strapped to tore itself from the ground and hurtled towards Glen, striking him in the back with the full force of a wrecking ball.  
  
Glen felt the wind knocked of his lungs as he went sprawling across the floor. He looked up to see Magneto standing above him, his scarlet cape billowing around him. "Excellent. Your rage is great. Very well, use it. Attack me, if you can,"  
  
Glen raised his hand to shoot a stasis bolt at Magneto, but strangely, he did not feel the usual rush of energy snake up his arm that he normally felt when he used his powers. He tried again, but the lack of results was the same. "What have you done?" he asked angrily.  
  
"The room we are in is surrounded by a special dampening field. Your powers are useless here," Magneto said. "And now, I will present my offer to you, after I make sure you fully understand the terms," He waved his hand again, and a length of cable tore itself off from the ceiling, descended, and wrapped around Glen's throat. Glen drew in as much air as he could before the cable lifted him off the ground, hanging him in mid-air. After a few seconds, he could feel his ears beginning to throb.  
  
"My offer is simple," Magneto explained. "You can either die here, now, or you can help me. But lest you think you would be doing this for nothing, let me assure you that you will be greatly compensated,"  
  
"What could you possibly offer me?" Glen said, struggling to remain conscious. He pried at the cable with his hands, but could not shake it loose from around his neck.  
  
"Nothing really. Just your lover, alive," Magneto said.  
  
"What?" Glen asked, his face starting to turn blue.  
  
"Yes. Help me, and your lover will be returned to you, alive and in perfect health,"  
  
"How can you do that?"  
  
"I'd love to explain, but it would take quite a while, and I can clearly see that you are about to suffocate, so I would advise you to make your choice, while you still can,"  
  
Glen was seconds away from death at this point. Despite his bitter hatred for the mutant in front of him, he sensed an air of truth in his voice. Could he somehow bring Sam back to life? There was only one way to find out.  
  
"All right! I'll help you!" Glen croaked.  
  
"Say again?" said Magneto tauntingly. "I couldn't quite make that out,"  
  
"I said I'll help you!" Glen gasped with the last bit of air in his lungs.  
  
"Excellent," Magneto said, and with a wave of his hand, the cable unwound itself from Glen's neck and he dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. "Follow me," Magneto said and turned to leave the room. Glen struggled to his feet, his lungs on fire. He went light-headed as he rose, but managed to stay conscious and followed Magneto through an arch-shaped doorway.  
  
They walked down a corridor that was flowing with the same purple energy that had been present in the last chamber. "The dampening field extends through the whole complex," explained Magneto. "Just in case you decide to get brave and try something foolish,"  
  
They continued to walk down the corridor, which finally opened into a large open room. Several computer banks lined the walls, and in the center of the room was a tall pod-shaped chamber. "What is that?" asked Glen.  
  
"That is how you're going to help me," said Magneto. "This device will enhance your powers, allowing you to tap into abilities you would otherwise have to wait years to develop naturally. Unfortunately, this is a weaker version than my previous construction. The enhancements you gain will only be temporary, but they will last long enough for our purposes. You can thank Scott Summers for the loss of the prior model, by the way,"  
  
"So what exactly will these 'enhanced powers' let me do?" asked Glen.  
  
"For starters, your own basic powers will rise to a far greater level than they currently are at now. I have been studying your abilities from the small amount of data that the Brotherhood was able to provide me, and these enhancements should allow you to travel backwards in time a short distance,"  
  
So that was Magneto's plan, thought Glen. Get him to travel back in time and steal Cerebro's components himself.  
  
As if he could tell what he was thinking, Magneto said, "Once the enhancements are complete, you will travel back in time to before the death of your friend. Once you accomplish the theft, you will return to this time period and give them to me,"  
  
"How will that bring Sam back to life?" asked Glen.  
  
Magneto casually tossed him a small metal object that looked a bit like a pine-cone. "When you return to the past, activate that beacon. It will transmit a message to my past self, with instructions to delay killing your friend, pending your success, of course,"  
  
Glen was very uncomfortable with this idea. And there was also the question of whether or not he could trust Magneto. "How can I be sure you won't kill him anyway after I give you what you want?"  
  
Magneto glared at him. "I had thought we had established a level of trust by now. But if you require further incentive." A loud hum filled the room as various metallic implements lifted off the floor and hovered threateningly overhead.  
  
Glen did not want to endure another round of Magneto's punishments. "Ok, fine. Let's just do this," he said.  
  
"Step inside the chamber," Magneto said, gesturing towards the pod, which opened at his command. Glen walked inside and heard the door slam shut behind him. After a moment, the lights went out in the pod. For a short time, nothing happened. Then Glen heard a faint whine, which grew steadily louder. At the same time, a dim light appeared in the chamber and grew brighter and brighter.  
  
After a few moments, the noise and light were overwhelming. Glen felt energy surge through him, and felt his body rack with spasms. He was not sure how much more he could take. Finally, when it seemed like he was about to burst, the machine shut down and the door hissed open, releasing a cloud of smoke as Glen slowly staggered out.  
  
"Feel any different?" asked Magneto.  
  
"Not really," said Glen, brushing a strand of hair away from his face. "Why did I just do that?" he thought to himself. "And why does my voice sound lower?"  
  
"You may not feel any different, but I assure you that you have changed. Take a look at yourself," Magneto said.  
  
Glen looked at his reflection in the polished surface of the machine he had just emerged from, and he was taken aback at what he saw. Staring back at him was not the boy he had been, but a figure that was that of a man's. He was taller and a bit more muscularly built while at the same time being impossibly slender. His clothes hung in tatters off of his body, no longer fitting. His hair had also changed. Instead of being dark and curly as it usually was, it now hung straight down to his shoulders. In addition, it was bright silver, just like Magneto's.  
  
Glen was both amazed and slightly horrified at his new appearance. "Why do I look different?" he asked.  
  
"I neglected to mention, this chamber changes the user's physical properties in addition to enhancing his powers. I should point out that these changes are much less dramatic than those instilled by the prior model,"  
  
"This might make things a bit more difficult," Glen said. "Nobody will recognize me when I go back,"  
  
"Then I suggest you use discretion, and don't put yourself in a position to be recognized," said Magneto, tossing Glen a garment. "I imagine you'll want some clothes that actually fit you now. Go ahead and put that on,"  
  
Glen walked back into the chamber, starting to wonder if this was really such a good idea. Would these changes be permanent? As much as he liked the way his transformed body looked, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to stay this way forever.  
  
He discarded the remains of his clothes and slipped into the garment Magneto had handed him, a black and silver body suit and a pair of black boots. He could see its fabric shimmer as he moved around, getting used to its feel. He stepped back out.  
  
Magneto next handed Glen an electronic display pad. "Take this with you. It contains everything you will need to access Cerebro's chamber and download the components I need,"  
  
"How did you get this?"  
  
"You aren't the first person who I've managed to get inside the Institute. I've had spies in there on several occasions. They have brought me useful information, and I expect no less from you,"  
  
"Fine. So how exactly am I supposed to travel back in time?"  
  
"Do you expect me to know how your powers work?" Magneto asked, feigning being insulted. "You know what point in the past you want to go back to, so just go there. Focus your mind, and it should be as simple as walking through a door,"  
  
Glen began to focus his thoughts, concentrating harder than he ever had before. He could feel waves of time flowing around him. Opening his eyes, he saw a large vortex opening in front of him. Flowing around on the inside of it was a wondrous landscape of images, scenes from Glen's past.  
  
After a few moments of searching, Glen found the particular image he was looking for and focused solely on that one. Immediately, the masses of images in the vortex vanished, and Glen could see the world of his past from that one particular image standing in front of him, just on the other side of the rift. Glen took a deep breath, and stepped through.  
  
There was a bright flash of light, and when it faded, both Glen and the vortex he had created were gone. 


	10. Reunion

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of X-Men Evolution. Glen Hilliard and Sam Thomas are my own creations.  
  
A cat walked down an alley in Bayville in search of a meal. As it was sniffing around some garbage cans, it saw a bright flash of light from the end of the alley. It gave a frightened yowl and fled out of the alley. A moment later, the light cleared and Glen Hilliard was kneeling next to a dumpster. He stood up and looked up at the night sky.  
  
When am I? He asked himself, completely disoriented from the time jump he had just performed. It LOOKED like Bayville, but it could be any time. He had never traveled through time before, and under the current circumstances there was no margin for error.  
  
He walked out of the alley and took a look around. The streets were devoid of people, and there was no traffic. Looking down the street, he saw a light at a newspaper stand. He walked up to the vendor and leaned on the counter.  
  
"Excuse me, what day is it?" he asked in a serious tone.  
  
"Whadya mean what day is it? It's the same day it's been all day!" the vendor said dismissively.  
  
Glen felt a surge of anger. He grabbed the vendor by his shirt and pulled him in close. "I need to know!" he shouted.  
  
"It, it's Thursday, the 16th! Just let me go!" the vendor said meekly. The night before Sam had died.  
  
"Thank you," Glen said harshly. He released the man and walked off, not giving any thought to his uncharacteristic display of anger.  
  
He suddenly remembered the beacon he was carrying. Turning down another alley, he pulled it out and toggled it. A red light on the top of it began blinking, but that was all that happened.  
  
Glen waited a few moments for something, anything to happen. "This thing better work," he muttered to himself. A few moments later, the device began flashing green, and a voice that was unmistakably Magneto's emerged from it. It spoke only four words: "I understand. Work quickly," and then fell silent.  
  
That's that, thought Glen. Now he needed to formulate a plan for how he would break into the mansion.  
  
As he was studying the schematics that Magneto had given him, 3 men turned down the alley and crept up from behind. Thinking Glen would be an easy target for a mugging, one of them reached over Glen's shoulder and snatched the pad out of his hands. Glen whipped around angrily. "Give that back!" he demanded. "And who's gonna make us?" one of the men sneered, the stench of alcohol hanging off of his breath. Another of the men shoved Glen down and then took a look at the pad. "Let's see what we've got here," he said, looking at the pad.  
  
Glen again felt his anger growing. Normally he would have just phased out of time long enough to snatch the pad back and make a getaway, but now he felt different. He could feel an untapped strength lying within him, and was aware of newer, stronger powers at his disposal. He also felt a disdain for these scum, and decided to test out these new powers on them.  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, and pointed his arm towards the men. A bolt of energy shot out and struck two of the men. They were engulfed in light, and when it cleared, there were two completely different people standing there. One of the muggers was now a wizened old man, while the other had become a baby, barely visible from the pile of clothing it was sitting in.  
  
The third mugger looked at Glen in shock. "What the hell did you do to them?" he asked, terrified. He dropped the pad and ran for his life.  
  
Glen looked at his hand in shock. What HAD he just done? He felt a wave of horror wash over him at the new level of power he had just displayed, but also, deeper down, a sense of pleasure for what he could do. He reached out his hand again. There was another flash of light, and the other two muggers were restored to their previous ages. They decided it would be a good idea to follow their leader's example, and turned tail.  
  
Glen picked up the pad as they left and finished concocting his plan. He would pull off the theft tonight, but first there was something else he had to do.  
  
Sam was sitting in his living room, recalling the events of his date with Glen. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He walked to the door and opened it to see a tall, youthful looking man gazing at him.  
  
"Hello, Sam," Glen said.  
  
"Who are you?" Sam asked.  
  
Glen winced; he had not been prepared for that, despite his altered appearance. "Somebody who loves you," he said, and saw a brief flare of recognition in Sam's eye.  
  
"Glen?" asked Sam, unable to believe what he was seeing.  
  
"Yes, Sam, it's me. Can I come in?"  
  
Sam opened the door further. "What's happened to you? You look completely different!"  
  
"I don't have much time to explain it," said Glen. "I've traveled back in time, because there's something very important I have to do. And I needed to see you again before I do it, just one more time,"  
  
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, uncertain.  
  
Glen paused, wondering how to say this. "Because in my time, you're dead," He saw the look of horror register on Sam's face.  
  
"What. how?" Sam stammered.  
  
"I don't know exactly how it happens. But I know that unless I'm successful, you're going to die in my arms, tomorrow,"  
  
Sam gasped. "Tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes. We'll be at the Institute, and something will happen to you. There's some kind of chip in your head, or there will be, and somehow it'll wind up killing you. Whoever put it in there is also going to brainwash you, so that you'll be completely unaware of what's happening to you,"  
  
Sam thought back to their conversation earlier. "Did the person you told me about earlier, the man who wants to expose you, did he do this?"  
  
"He's no man, but yes, he's the one responsible for this. He's the reason that I'm here, and he's the reason I look this way,"  
  
"He did that to you?"  
  
"Yes. He has some kind of machine that enhances mutant powers, and I went through it,"  
  
"Glen, do you mean that you're actually working for this mutant?"  
  
Glen knit his brow, aware that he had said a little too much. "Yes, I am,"  
  
"But why would you help him, after what he's tried to do to you?"  
  
"That doesn't matter now. Right now the only thing I care about is getting you back, alive. Everything else can sort itself out," Glen said.  
  
"What about your friends at the Institute? What if Magneto manages to expose you?"  
  
Glen paused; he really did not want to think about this now. "Look, maybe it won't come to that. But don't you see? You're what matters most to me! I love you, and I'm not going to let you die!" Glen said, a tear welling up in his eye.  
  
Sam looked at Glen uncertainly. Glen had just said that he loved him. Ordinarily, he would have swooned, because it was the one thing he most wanted to hear Glen say. But this was different. This was not HIS Glen. Would his Glen be willing to turn his back on his friends, just for him? Whatever had happened, his future death must have affected Glen so much that he would do anything to prevent it.  
  
Finally, he said, "Glen, I'm not sure if I like this, but if you feel that this is what you have to do, then go and do it," He gave Glen a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck," he whispered.  
  
Glen hugged Sam tightly, afraid to let go. "I think we're all going to need some good luck," he said, and finally released Sam and walked out the door. 


	11. The Heist

Since he didn't have money for a cab, Glen had to walk to the mansion. By the time he arrived, it was very late at night. He eschewed the front entrance completely and made his way around to the cliffs behind the mansion, making sure to avoid the Institute's security systems.  
  
He walked up to the base of the cliff and looked up. The moon was reflecting off the waterfall that obscured the entrance to the hangar. Glen grabbed the rocks and began to climb. The climb took a long time, and the waterfall splashed spray and foam on him the whole way up, making the rocks very slippery. Twice he lost his grip and nearly fell, but both times managed to hold on. After what seemed like an eternity, he made it up to the entrance of the hanger. Then, using one of the codes Magneto had given him, he overrode the security locks on the hangar doors and opened them.  
  
Inside the hanger, he took a moment to rest and warm up and then walked stealthily across the large room. He was fully aware of the sensitive security in place, and refrained from phasing out of time in fear that Cerebro would detect his powers and give him away.  
  
He made it across the hanger without being detected and got out into the corridor. Security was lighter here, and he relaxed a bit. As he walked through the hall, he had a mental debate with himself concerning his new appearance and powers. Part of him wanted to get this over with and go back to the way he was as soon as possible, but another part was enjoying the new Glen.  
  
You've got to admit, Glen thought, you DO look much cuter now. Sure, the silver look might not be you, but haven't you always wanted long hair?  
  
Ok, maybe I have, Glen thought back to himself. But you saw the way Sam reacted when he saw me. I mean, I'm practically an ADULT now!  
  
Oh, he'll get used to it, just give him some time. Besides, what about these new powers you have? Did you see the looks on those muggers' faces? You know, maybe you should stay with Magneto after all this is over. Who knows what else he might be able to teach you?  
  
Glen shook his head, trying to dislodge this nagging voice. He had no wish for power over others, and he certainly had no desire to be around Magneto any longer than was absolutely necessary. Why was he thinking these thoughts?  
  
What Glen was unaware of was that besides altering his physical body, Magneto's machine had also altered his mind somewhat to make him more pliant and in essence make him WANT to be with Magneto. Fortunately for Glen, this machine did not quite have the strength of its predecessor.  
  
Glen made his way to a junction in the hall and stopped. Down the hall was Cerebro's chamber, but there were numerous security cameras along the way. There was no way he'd be able to get by them without using his powers. He prepared himself and stepped around the corner, arms extended. Purple-white bolts of energy shot out from his fingertips and struck all the cameras, freezing them in stasis. Glen walked down the hall, unimpeded, until he came to Cerebro's door.  
  
He looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming down the hall, then began working on the control panel, inputting the codes that Magneto had given him in order to gain access. After a few moments, the door cracked open, and Glen walked inside.  
  
He looked around the room in amazement. He had never been in this room before, and was overwhelmed by the all the machinery in the room. On the wall were numerous displays that tracked mutant movements and projected emergences of people with the X-Gene. So this is how the professor found me, and all of us, Glen thought in awe. He took everything in, and then set to work.  
  
He connected the pad to the main terminal and pressed a few buttons. The pad began scanning Cerebro's mainframe in search of the information it needed. What Glen didn't know was that the pad was also downloading every bit of information the giant computer had on mutants all over the world. This compiled list would be very helpful to Magneto when he began recruiting more mutants.  
  
Next, Glen knelt down at one of the main terminals and removed the access panel. He studied the schematics of the computer, and then reached inside and pulled out a circuit board. This was the crucial component that would allow Magneto to produce a working duplicate of Cerebro.  
  
Glen was also unaware that his access had triggered a silent alarm. Upstairs, Xavier was sitting in the den with Kitty, Jean, Rogue, Kurt, and the present version of Glen when the lights in the room flashed amber. A voice broke out over the intercom. "Warning, unauthorized access in Cerebro mainframe. Mutant signature detected,"  
  
"Computer, identify the mutant," Xavier said nervously.  
  
"Mutant identified as Glen Hilliard," the computer responded. All eyes in the room shot over to Glen, who himself was shocked. "How could that be? I'm right here!"  
  
Jean reached out with her mind. "I can sense him, professor. It is Glen, but yet it isn't!"  
  
"Mystique again!" Kurt shouted. "Let's go!"  
  
"Wait! It's not Mystique," said Jean. "I can't explain it. It's just like it's another Glen down there,"  
  
It would take a couple minutes for everybody to get downstairs. Xavier did a quick mental sweep of the Institute and saw that Scott was downstairs in one of the exercise rooms. He called out with his mind. "Scott, go to Cerebro immediately. Somebody is trying to break in. Stop him!"  
  
"On my way, professor," came Scott's mental reply.  
  
"Scott will hold things up long enough for us to get down there," said Xavier. "Let's move,"  
  
Scott ran towards Cerebro. He noticed the purple glow around all of the security cameras. Had Glen done this? he wondered to himself. He arrived at the door to find that he was too late to stop the thief from getting in, but he could certainly stop him from getting out. He walked in and saw the intruder crouched at Cerebro's main console.  
  
"Whoever you are, stop what you're doing!" Scott shouted. He saw the intruder stand up slowly and turn to face him. "Who are you?" Scott asked him cautiously.  
  
Glen stepped forward. "You know who I am, Scott," he said grimly. "Stand back, and let me finish what I came to do,"  
  
Scott tried to ignore the impossibility of what he was seeing and focused on the task at hand. "Glen, I don't what's going on or what you're doing, but I can't let you finish!" he said, his hand drifting upwards toward his visor.  
  
"And I've come too far to let you stop me!" Glen shouted back, balling his hand into a fist.  
  
There was a dramatic pause, and then both mutants fired at once. Glen dived out the way to dodge Scott's optic blast while Scott rolled behind a terminal to avoid Glen's stasis bolt.  
  
Behind the terminal, Scott tried to reach out to Glen. "Glen, why are you doing this?" he called out. He got no response, and cautiously peeked out from behind the console. "Are you doing this for Magneto?" he asked. "You can't just turn your back on us like this!" He barely saw the stasis bolt coming at him, and leaned so far back to miss it that he fell over. He rolled to one side, blindly firing an optic blast at the origin of the bolt before rolling back behind the terminal. He couldn't tell if he had hit his target or not.  
  
Glen saw the pad finish its task, and decided it was time to go. He phased out of time and retrieved the pad, and then re-entered time in the middle of the room. "Scott, I've lost too much! Don't ask me to stop!" he said in a pained voice. He saw Scott run behind another terminal and line up for a shot, and he again felt the surge of anger at his progress being impeded. "No you don't," he said darkly, and with the slightest amount of concentration produced a dozen temporal doubles. Unlike his first attempts at using this power, these images were no shadows but full copies of Glen and completely under his control.  
  
From his new vantage point, Scott hesitated as he saw the doubles spring into existence. He hesitated, uncertain which one to shoot. Just then, the doors opened and the other mutants rushed in. "Stay back!" Scott warned them. "I can't tell which one's the real one!"  
  
Jean concentrated, and then said, "It's that one!" and pointed to the clones. She dispelled the doubles, and Scott fired at Glen. Glen phased out of time to dodge the blast and retreated behind another console.  
  
Xavier directed traffic, telling the X-Men to take Glen down, but to be very cautious. There was no way for them to know the full extent of Glen's new powers. He nodded at Kurt, who grabbed Rogue's hand and teleported with a loud BAMF!  
  
Glen knew that he was going to be attacked, and he knew his fellow X-Men well enough from all the training he had undergone to anticipate their first assault. He turned around just as Kurt and Rogue appeared behind him. He dodged Kurt's blow and grabbed the fuzzy boy, and then threw him across the room.  
  
He turned around just in time to see Rogue reaching for him with her bare hand. He quickly reached out, grabbed Rogue's wrist, and twisted hard. Glaring, he ignored the snap of bone and Rogue's cry of pain as her wrist broke. He shoved her away, and leapt up and backwards to a catwalk along the top of the room. He paused for a moment, slightly awed by his new strength. He had never been able to jump that high before. He heard the voice in his head again; See how much Magneto's given you! Join him!  
  
While Glen was distracted, Kitty phased through the floor behind him and grabbed hold of him. Glen struggled, and rammed her hard into the railing. She cried out as she fell backwards over the railing. Jean reached out with her powers and caught Kitty just before she hit the floor. Glen shot a pair of stasis bolts down to the floor, sending the rest of the mutants scattering.  
  
Xavier looked at the present-day Glen. "I know this may be unusual, but I need you to fight yourself,"  
  
The present-day Glen nodded and vanished as he phased out of time. Up on the catwalk, Glen became aware of something moving behind him. Turning, he saw nothing, but could still sense somebody moving closer. Interesting, he thought.  
  
He phased out of time at the exact same instant the present-day Glen phased back in. He reappeared behind Glen and spun him around. He looked very sternly into his eyes. "Don't fight me, Glen. I'm doing this for us!"  
  
"What do you mean?" asked the present-day Glen.  
  
"If I don't get out of here, Sam will die! I can't let that happen, and I know you can't either!" He dropped down from the catwalk, leaving the present-day Glen alone by himself.  
  
Xavier saw that his efforts to stop Glen were failing, and reached out with his mind. "Glen, please, stop this," he thought.  
  
Glen became aware of the professor in his mind. "I'm sorry, professor," he thought back. "I can't let anybody stop me, not even you," He crossed his arms across his chest and surrounded himself with a dome of temporal energy. He then shot his arms out, and the dome quickly spread out across the whole room, freezing everybody. Glen nodded at the results of his powers, and started to leave.  
  
As he passed the frozen Xavier, he paused briefly, and picked up a pad from one of the consoles. He typed out a message for Xavier to find when he recovered, and then began to concentrate again. It was time to get back to his time. He could see the temporal vortex swirling before him, and he saw the destination he was searching for. At least it'll all be worth it, he thought, and stepped through. 


	12. Future Reborn

As Glen stood engulfed in the temporal vortex that was returning him to his own time, he reflected on what he had done; not only had he broken into Cerebro's mainframe, he had frozen his fellow X-Men in time. How was he possibly going to explain this when he returned? For that matter, how was he going to explain his new appearance to anybody? Sam had been terrified to see him like that. What would other people who knew him say? How was he going to go back to school looking like this?  
  
As all of these questions revolved in his head, he again heard the voice that had been haunting his mind for the last several hours: Why are you even thinking about those things? The X-Men, your so-called friends, they didn't understand what's happened. They tried to stop you! They deserved what they got.  
  
Shut up! Glen thought back.  
  
And why should you even care about what you look like now? If people don't like the way you look, that's their problem. Besides, think about your powers! You can MAKE them like you!  
  
Get out of my head! Glen shouted in his mind.  
  
"Glen!" came another voice adding itself to the commotion, very faintly.  
  
Who's there? Glen thought back.  
  
"Glen!" the voice repeated itself. Glen couldn't make out who was trying to contact him. Before he could reply, the vortex collapsed and he found himself standing back in Magneto's chamber.  
  
The master mutant rose and walked towards Glen. "I trust you were successful?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," Glen said, handing Magneto the pad and the circuit board.  
  
"Excellent," said Magneto, a touch of glee in his voice. He took the pad and the board and walked over to his own computer, where he quickly set them up.  
  
"Behold! The future of mutant-kind is at hand!" he proclaimed triumphantly as his computer screen lit up to show a map of the world. There were several areas highlighted in red, covering the entire map. Meanwhile, faces and information began appearing on other screens, flying by at a rapid pace. "Soon, they will all follow me! Mankind's day has past, now it is our time!"  
  
Glen looked at Magneto in horror. What had he done? He had given Magneto exactly what he needed to rule the world!  
  
"Come, my young friend!" said Magneto, putting his hand on Glen's shoulder. "Let us welcome our new brothers together!"  
  
"Don't touch me!" Glen said, repulsed, and pushed Magneto's hand away.  
  
Magneto sighed; clearly, the boy was not yet ready to accept his place in the new world. But that would change soon enough. He walked back to his computer terminal and began to establish a satellite uplink, so that he could broadcast a message to every mutant on the planet and inform them of the new era that had risen.  
  
Back in the Danger Room, the X-Men collapsed to the ground as Glen's massive stasis shock wave wore off. Everybody was very disoriented, especially Xavier, who had fallen out of his wheelchair and had to be helped back up.  
  
"What just happened?" asked Kitty.  
  
"How long were we frozen?" asked Rogue, grimacing at the pain from her broken wrist.  
  
"I do not know," said Xavier. He wheeled over to a computer terminal and tried to check the time. "It's no use," he said. "The computers were frozen as well. It could have been minutes, or hours, or perhaps even years,"  
  
"Years?" asked Kitty, very nervously. "How could he have gotten that powerful so fast? He only looked a few years older. Even if he did travel back from the future, he shouldn't have been able to obtain that level of ability,"  
  
"I'll tell you how," said Scott, and explained his theory. "Notice what color his hair was? Silver. The same thing happened to me and my brother a year or so ago,"  
  
"Of course!" said Jean, realizing. "Magneto must have rebuilt his Cauldron, that's the only possible explanation,"  
  
"And that can only mean one thing," said Scot angrily. "He's working for Magneto. Glen's turned on us!"  
  
"But why would he do that?" asked Kitty. "We're his friends! What reason would he have to betray us?"  
  
All eyes in the room slowly drifted towards Glen, who looked extremely uncomfortable.  
  
"When we were up there," he said, pointing to the catwalk, "He told me that if we tried to stop him, Sam was going to die!"  
  
"Hey! Take a look at this!" Kurt exclaimed. He had found the pad that Glen had left behind before returning to the future.  
  
Glen took the pad from Kurt and read the message that he had left for himself. "Oh my god," he said softly.  
  
"What is it?" asked Kitty.  
  
Glen closed his eyes before he spoke, so great was the impact of the message. "It says that Magneto got hold of Sam and brainwashed him to try and break into Cerebro. Or he WILL do these things,"  
  
"Ugh, I hate time travel," Kurt said, recalling all of the science fiction movies. "It always gives me a headache trying to sort out when everything's supposed to be,"  
  
Glen continued. "Magneto put some kind of implant in his brain to control him, and then he killed him with it!"  
  
"Bastard!" Rogue growled. Kurt said something in German that everybody understood to be some kind of curse. Even Xavier looked uncharacteristically angry.  
  
Glen finished the pad. "Magneto was just using Sam to get to me. He captured me and threatened to kill me if I didn't help him. I went through some kind of machine and came out as, well, as the person we saw a little while ago. He says that he doesn't have any other choice," Glen said, not referring directly to himself for this last bit of information.  
  
"But if he's changed the past, he wouldn't have to work for Magneto!" said Kitty.  
  
"Maybe he doesn't realize that things have already changed," Kurt offered.  
  
"We can worry about all that later. Right now we have a more pressing concern," said Xavier. "According to the computer logs, Glen accessed the master list of mutants throughout the world. If Magneto has another Cauldron, he could summon them all and then evolve them to create his own personal army,"  
  
"If he does that," Jean began.  
  
"He'd be able to expose more than just us," Scott finished. "He'd be able to take on the whole world!"  
  
Xavier glared at that prospect; the day he had feared for so long appeared to have arrived. He quickly linked the computer to a GPS satellite. "Thank god!" he said. It was one of the few times the X-Men had heard Xavier use such an expression.  
  
"We've only been frozen for about an hour," he explained. "There may still be time to stop Magneto. I just hope Forge's new temporal communicator works like it's supposed to," he said, referring to the device that Forge had built specifically with Glen in mind. If successful, Xavier would be able to communicate with Glen in the past or the future.  
  
As Magneto worked, a voice again came into his head. "Glen, can you hear me?"  
  
This time, Glen recognized the voice; it was Professor Xavier! "Yes, professor, I can hear you!" he thought, trying not to appear too excited lest he give himself away. "I'm sorry for what's happened, but it's the only way,"  
  
Xavier cut him off. "We can discuss all that later. What is Magneto doing right now?"  
  
"He's getting ready to broadcast some kind of message," Glen replied. "I think he's going to contact every mutant in the world at once,"  
  
"You must stop him!" Xavier broadcast.  
  
"I don't know what I'll be able to do," said Glen. "He's got some kind of field in here that's blocking my powers,"  
  
"Glen, it is absolutely imperative that you stop him from broadcasting that message," Xavier said. A blinking light on his console told him that the transmission was beginning to break up.  
  
"Glen! Do wh-e-r you -ave to t- ---- him!"  
  
"Professor!" Glen shouted in his mind, but the transmission had ended and his mind was silent. What was he going to do? With the dampening field still in place, he would be helpless. He had to find a way to shut it down somehow, or to get Magneto to do it for him. Gritting his teeth, he walked up to the mutant.  
  
"Ok, I've done what you've asked me to do. Can I leave now?" he asked.  
  
"Why do you want to leave so soon?" asked Magneto. "You are about to witness the greatest moment in mutant history, and you helped to bring it about! Surely you want to see this." he said, grinning.  
  
The voice returned to Glen's mind. "Yes," it said, grating. "Stay with him, witness the future's birth!"  
  
Never! Glen thought back, trying to silence the voice. "I don't care about your new future or any of this. I just did this for Sam. Now let me go," he said threateningly.  
  
Magneto glared at him. "I am offering you the opportunity of a lifetime! It would have taken years for you to develop the powers you have now, but I gave them to you in a matter of seconds! Think of what else you could do! Why do you want to throw that away?" he asked.  
  
Glen only glared back. "I don't give a damn what you do with any of this, and I don't give a damn about you," he said menacingly. "Very well," Magneto said. "Go back where you came from. Soon, when I am in control, I will remember this day. You had your chance; rest assured, you won't get another,"  
  
He pressed some buttons on his computer, and the pink glow that had pervaded the room died out as the dampening field shut off. "Now go!" he roared.  
  
Yes! Glen thought. His bluff had worked, and Magneto had given him exactly what he needed.  
  
"Before I leave, I think you should see exactly what sort of future you've really created," said Glen. Before Magneto could do anything, Glen stretched out his hand toward Magneto's computer. A beam of energy sprung from his fingertips and engulfed the computer. Magneto looked on in horror as his machine aged decades in a matter of seconds. When the beam faded, it was covered with rust and completely useless.  
  
"No!" shouted Magneto. He pounded on the computer in frustration and knocked a large, rusted out piece of it off. It fell on the floor with a loud clatter.  
  
"That's not all I can do," said Glen, and pointed his hand towards Magneto.  
  
Magneto raised his own fist and a loud hum filled the room as every metallic object that wasn't firmly bolted down rose off the floor and hovered above him.  
  
Glen shot an aging beam at Magneto, but the mutant cast one of the metal objects into the path of the beam. Again Glen fired, and again Magneto deflected the bolt. Before Glen could shoot another bolt, Magneto waved his hand and sent several objects flying at Glen.  
  
Glen dodged them, phasing in and out of time as Magneto hurled debris in his direction.  
  
"Looks like I'm too fast for you!" he said defiantly.  
  
"Perhaps," said Magneto cunningly, waving his hand again to launch another attack. Glen dodged the debris, but Magneto had another plan. A thin metal pipe burst out of the floor just as Glen reappeared from phasing and shot directly at him. Glen was unable to phase out again, and he screamed in pain as the pipe impaled his arm, pinning him against the wall like a bug in a collection.  
  
"Perhaps not," Magneto said, laughing cruelly. He lifted off the floor and began to float towards Glen to finish him off.  
  
Glen looked at the pipe sticking out of his arm. He grabbed the pipe, determined not to die like some insect, and pulled it out of his arm, fighting through the pain. He touched a finger to the hole in his arm and created a temporal bubble around the gaping wound, effectively cauterizing the flow of blood.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mystique walk into the room. Excellent, he thought. This would soon be over.  
  
"Mystique, activate the dampening field," he said.  
  
Mystique said nothing, but walked over to the dampening field control panel. She began pressing buttons, inputting a new series of commands for the machine.  
  
Magneto did not recognize the commands Mystique was inputting, but he knew that something was not right. "Mystique, what are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"Something I should have done a long time ago," she said in a voice of pure rage, and activated the dampening field.  
  
The field popped up, but this time it had a red glow to it instead of its prior pink hue. "Mystique!" Magneto snarled as he realized what she had done. A moment later, he dropped to the floor as the reconfigured dampening field began to sap away his own powers. There was a deafening crash as the metal that Magneto had been using as ammunition came tumbling to the floor.  
  
Mystique glared down at Magneto. "He's all yours," she said to Glen.  
  
"Glen, please," Magneto said. "Listen to me, I only wanted,"  
  
"Shut up!" Glen yelled fiercely, letting loose all the hatred he felt for the mutant lying before him. "You think you can just control people's lives and use them like chess pieces. You think you can kill my boyfriend like he was an insect. Now you're going to see what it's like to be the helpless victim for a change!" He raised his arm and fired, blinded by rage.  
  
The bolt enveloped Magneto, just as it had done to the computer. In seconds, Magneto had been reduced to a shriveled old man, the effects of his longevity treatments gone.  
  
Mystique walked over to him. "I've always wanted to see you like this, lying there totally helpless. How does it feel to have somebody else plotting the development of YOUR life, Magnus?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Mystique," he croaked, reaching desperately for her.  
  
Mystique curled her lip in disgust and launched a kick straight at Magneto's head. It connected and Magneto crumpled to the floor unconscious. She spat on him, a final gesture of hatred.  
  
"Thanks," Glen said. "But why turn on him now? I thought this was what you were after,"  
  
"It was," Mystique said. "But not like this, not at this price. I may hate Xavier, but I don't want you to suffer what I did,"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You're not the only one who's lost somebody they loved because of that thing," she said, gesturing at the unconscious mutant stretched out on the floor.  
  
"Now, it's time for you to go," she said. She pulled a device from her belt and tossed it into the Cauldron. "Once that thing goes off, it'll destroy that thing and put you back to normal," she said. "I don't think you'll want to be anywhere nearby when that happens, though,"  
  
"What about you? And him, for that matter?" Glen asked.  
  
"Don't worry about me," she said. "I have plans of my own, but rest assured they don't involve any of you. As for Magneto, even if he does survive, I don't think he'll be a threat to anybody for a long time. Go out that door and follow the corridor. You'll find an exit. Go now!"  
  
Glen didn't need any further prompting. He walked out the door and after a few minutes was standing outside.  
  
He looked around and could see nothing but water on all sides. He was out in the middle of the ocean! How much longer before that thing went off, anyway?  
  
A second later, he heard a whining of an engine. He looked up to see the X- Jet hovering overhead, its ramp extending. He saw Scott standing at the top along with Jean and Xavier. "Get in!" the mutant shouted.  
  
Glen jumped onto the ramp and the X-Jet took off. Behind them, a silver sphere rose into the sky and flew away in the other direction. A moment later, Magneto's base exploded in a massive fireball.  
  
The mutants watched out the window as fire and debris shot up into the sky.  
  
"I guess that's that," said Kurt.  
  
"What about Magneto?" Jean asked Glen. "Was he in there?"  
  
Glen was silent. He honestly didn't know if Magneto had gotten out. He had his own desires for the mutant's fate, but did not speak them. Finally he looked at Jean and said, "No, he made it out,"  
  
"Figures," said Scott. "At least he won't be taking over the world today,"  
  
Glen kept silent. He didn't feel like revealing exactly what he had done to Magneto.  
  
"Hey, shouldn't you have changed back by now?" Scott asked Glen. Now that the Cauldron had had been destroyed, Glen should have reverted back to his normal form, just as Scott had immediately after destroying the first Cauldron on Asteroid M.  
  
"What?" Glen replied nervously, and looked at his reflection in the window. He gasped to see that he was still in his older, taller body, and that his hair was still silver.  
  
"What's happening?" he said as his jaw dropped. "Mystique said I'd go back to normal once that thing blew up!"  
  
"Magneto may have changed the machine to make its enhancements permanent. We can do some tests on you once we get back to the Institute," Xavier said. "Hopefully, we can find a way to get you back to the way you used to be,"  
  
"I hope so," Glen said, suddenly very much less enthusiastic than he had been just a few moments ago. 


	13. Con Te Partiro

Glen did not have a particularly pleasant homecoming when he returned to the Institute. When he stepped off of the X-Jet, he saw the faces of the other mutants looking at him. They appeared relieved that he was safe, but he could sense an air of suspicion, as if he were a completely different person. And in a way, he was. He walked past them, trying to ignore their glances. Rogue was looking at him especially hard, holding the cast around her broken wrist.  
  
Xavier accompanied Glen to the infirmary, where Beast had the medical table all ready to go. He regarded Glen curiously as he lay down on the bed. The furred mutant started up the scanners. "It'll be a little while," he said to Xavier. "I'll let you know when it's complete," Xavier nodded his consent and wheeled out of the room.  
  
Glen watched the olive-colored scanning beams play over him as he lay motionless. "Will you be able to turn me back to the way I was?" he asked Beast.  
  
"I don't know," Beast said cautiously. "We weren't able to study the effects of the Cauldron when Scott went through it. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to find some way to help you," He turned back to the scanner, which was beginning to confirm his fears that they would NOT be able to restore Glen to his prior state.  
  
A little while, the scan finished. Beast nodded slowly as he saw the results. "I'll be right back," he told Glen, and turned to walk out the door.  
  
"Wait, what did the scans say?" Glen asked, but he received no answer. Looking through the translucent doors, he could see the shadows of Beast and Xavier. Beast was leaning over Xavier's wheelchair, and Glen could see Xavier's shoulders slump. He felt himself start to sweat when he saw Xavier's reaction.  
  
The doors parted, and Xavier and Beast walked back in. Beast paused in the doorway and leaned down next to Xavier. "I'll be right outside if you need me," he whispered in Xavier's ear. Then, he turned and left, leaving Xavier and Glen in the room alone together.  
  
Xavier wheeled up to the side of the table as Glen sat up. "Glen, I don't know how to explain this," he began.  
  
Glen saw the pained look on Xavier's normally passive face and immediately realized the results of the scans. "I think I can figure it out, Professor. I'm stuck like this, aren't I?"  
  
Xavier sighed. "For the time being, yes,"  
  
Glen's shoulders slumped as it sank in.  
  
"Beast was at a loss as to why your changes didn't wear off like Scott's had when he went through the Cauldron," Xavier said. "Scott reverted back to his prior state as soon as that Cauldron was destroyed, but this one."  
  
"Magneto said it was weaker than the first," Glen said. "He said it would only be temporary,"  
  
"Glen, I am afraid that it is very possible that Magneto deceived you to make you more willing to help him," said Xavier. "When Scott went through the Cauldron, it changed his mind, making him Magneto's willing servant,"  
  
"He must have been trying to do the same thing with me!" Glen groaned. "The whole time, I was hearing these voices in my head. They were telling me to join him!"  
  
"Then he must have been counting on keeping you at his side after you returned," said Xavier.  
  
Glen burst out crying. "Oh god!" he cried. "He killed Sam and I actually trusted him! I should have just let him kill me!"  
  
"Glen, do not say that. Your sacrifice would have accomplished nothing," Xavier said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Besides, you stopped Magneto from carrying out his plan, and your friend is alive and well now. I know you are feeling betrayed, but you have NOT betrayed me, no matter what anybody might think," he said, referring to the stares Glen had gotten from the other X-Men upon his return.  
  
For the first time, Glen thought of Sam and life outside the Institute. "But if I'm like this, how will I be able to go back to school? Are you absolutely sure I'm stuck like this?"  
  
"I cannot say for certain," Xavier said. "Magneto's technology is well beyond our capacity for understanding. There is a chance that the changes may wear off and you may wake up someday to find yourself as you were, but there is a very high probability that these changes will be. permanent,"  
  
Glen lowered his head somberly. "Sam nearly dies, and my life is ruined, all because of Magneto," he said. "But at least he won't be hurting anybody else,"  
  
"What do you mean?" said Xavier. "I thought you said that he escaped before his base was destroyed.  
  
"He didn't" said Glen. "At least, I don't think he did," And then he told Xavier exactly what had happened in the encounter between himself and Magneto. When he finished, he saw Xavier looking at him with a clear look of disappointment on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry I've failed you, Professor. If I had had the power to, I would have killed him myself," said Glen. "I let my rage overcome me. I wanted him to die, to suffer for what he had done to Sam. I ignored everything you told me because I wanted Magneto to feel exactly the way Sam felt,"  
  
"Glen," Xavier said slowly. "You have not failed. Sometimes we get so involved with ourselves and the fact that we live completely different lives than most people, that we forget that we have so much in common with normal people. We've become so wrapped up in our own fantasy world that we forget how to deal with real problems. Things like death and the loss of friends. If Magneto is truly dead, then I regret that he died without being able to see the day when humans and mutants could coexist peacefully. It would have done much for him,"  
  
"And if he's still alive?" asked Glen.  
  
"That is not important. What matters now is you. How you are going to move on from these events," said Xavier. "And how you are going to go back to your friend,"  
  
"I don't want Sam in any more danger," said Glen. "I wish I had never exposed him to all of this,"  
  
"I understand that," said Xavier. "And while we cannot undo what has been done, we can make sure that nobody will ever use him to manipulate you," He explained to Glen what he had in mind.  
  
A short time later, a limo pulled up in front of Sam's house. Two people, one in a wheelchair, got out of the car.  
  
Inside the house, Sam heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and saw the people that had gotten out of the car. He recognized Xavier from the brief time that he had seen him at the Institute, but he did not recognize the other man with the silver hair.  
  
"May we come in?" asked Xavier.  
  
"Sure," said Sam. "What's going on?"  
  
"We need to talk," said Glen, and Sam's eyes went wide as he recognized the voice of his lover.  
  
It had been a very painful conversation for the two boys as they both realized that it would be impossible for them to see each other again, even if Sam could remain in Bayville. There was no way Glen would ever be able to return to school as he was without people getting suspicious. Despite the pain of the separation, Sam had tried to remain in as good of a humor as he could. "Hey, you look good with long hair, even if it makes you look like you're 60," he said. "Er, sorry, Professor," he said quickly, realizing his faux pas.  
  
"You always had a good eye for beauty," Glen said, chuckling.  
  
In the end, Xavier had arranged for Sam and his family to move across the country to a house in San Francisco. Since Sam's father worked for the government, they were able to do this with relative ease and security. If Magneto did return, he would have a very difficult time indeed if he tried to locate Sam. The house sold quickly, and a few days later its contents had been packed up and loaded into a moving van. Glen and Sam stood together in the driveway of the empty house.  
  
"Promise you'll try and visit some time?" asked Sam.  
  
"I don't know if I'll be staying here much longer myself, but I will try," Glen said. "Besides, San Francisco's a pretty cool place,"  
  
"It won't be as cool without you around," Sam muttered.  
  
"I know. I'd give anything to stay with you. Hell, I already have," Glen said. "But it's just too dangerous for you to stay here. Magneto may still be alive, and if he is, he's going to want revenge. I'm not going to let him use you against me again,"  
  
Sam put his arms around Glen in a tight embrace, which Glen eagerly returned. It was a long time before they broke apart. Sam kissed Glen once on the lips, and said, "That's to make sure you come out and visit," and got in the car, which slowly drove away.  
  
Glen's own time in Bayville came to an end shortly after that. Xavier made arrangements for him to attend university in London, and had given him a few mutant contacts over there for him to look up once he arrived. Tired of looking like an old man, Glen had gotten his hair treated, and on the day he departed, he stepped out of the limo at the airport with blond hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail ("Looks good on you," Kitty had said when she first saw the change). . The entire Institute had come to the airport to see Glen off. All the animosity that had existed between them was a thing of the past. Even Rogue had forgiven Glen for breaking her wrist ("I probably would have done the same thing to you," she had said with a laugh- Glen had not been as amused). As he walked towards the plane, Kurt called out, "Have a great time, and don't forget to write, ja?"  
  
"Oh, I'll keep in touch," Glen said. "And who knows, if you're very lucky, I might stop by to say hello from time to time," With that, he climbed the steps to the plane and disappeared inside. The door closed, and the plane began to roll off down the runway.  
  
"Man, I'm going to miss him," Kurt said to Kitty.  
  
"I know," she replied. "The place won't be the same without him. Hey, what's that?" she asked, noticing something shiny lying on the tarmac.  
  
She bent down and picked up the shiny piece of fabric. "I don't believe it!" she said, looking at the silver sash Glen had bought during their first trip to the mall together.  
  
"That vas NOT here a second ago," said Kurt, looking back at the plane, rising off of the ground. "Vhat's that inside of it?" he said, pointing at the small bulge inside the fabric.  
  
Kitty unrolled the sash and found a picture inside. It was the picture of the three of them at the mall, when Kurt had turned off his image inducer. She grinned and showed it to Kurt.  
  
"'Never be afraid to show the world your true colors,'" he said, reading Glen's last words to them. He looked down at the illusion of his human- looking hand, then back at the picture. Deciding to take one last chance, he switched his image inducer off and joined the rest of the X-Men as they walked back to the limo. Despite the stares he got, he had never felt more confident in his life.  
  
Coming up next: One more humor fic before I resume my serious writing. Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood are in for some misadventures in babysitting when an orphaned mutant child turns up on their front porch. Will they be able to control the child themselves, or will they have to resort to a more feminine touch? (no, Pietro doesn't count!) 


End file.
